The Magnificent Seven
by Darkness1
Summary: UPDATE! To all of you out there, NO I haven't died, thanks for worrying. But I've been close toThis story takes place several years after the game Jedi Academy. A group of 7 young adults are placed in the same team in Jedi Academy. Their friendship grows
1. Chapter 1

Jedi Academy  
  
The Magnificent Seven  
  
(My first Jedi Knight story. Just so you know, Star Wars belongs to George Lucas. Bless his genius mind. So if anything is in violation of the Star Wars spirit, let HIM speak up. Thanks)

The hollow sound of the hyperreactor shutting itself off and the standard engines taking over echoed through the spaceshuttle. The theoretically rough shift of going from lightspeed to normal could barely be noticed. The endless space became familiar again as the white lines returned to beautiful stars that covered the scenario. The captain looked back from his seat and saw all the bored people in the back starting to get eager. It was almost as they knew the end of the line was near.  
  
"Hang on to your lunch, kids. We'll be entering the atmosphere on the planet Yavin 4 in 5 minutes. So straighten up your seat, fasten the seatbelts and prepare for some fun trembling. Just for your information, the toilet is in the back if anyone gets spacesick," he said and heard a small session of laughter and some grunting.  
  
The spaceshuttle was on its way to the planet Yavin 4 to drop off a new group of youths to the famous Jedi Academy. The New Republic had increased its search for potential people to join the ranks as Jedi Knights. Millions of Credits had been used to search every planet the New Republic controlled, and finally, their efforts could bear fruits.  
  
Among the passengers were two very good friends. Their friendship stretched several years back. They both had strong connection to the Force and they were brought together on the craft. Soon they would both start what they had always dreamed of doing. Train to become Jedi Knights.  
  
Random was human. Born on Coruscant and raised in a normal environment all his life. Young and passionate, his strength rested on his common sense and wits to solve any trouble he got himself into. A born leader thought he always said he didn't like to have too much responsibility.  
  
Ryu was his most trusted friend and his brother in all but blood. He was a Kel Dor from the planet of Dorin. Unlike Random, he never really knew his parents as they both dies in a crash when he was just a little boy. The accident turned him into a mute, and since he always weared the oxygen mask that all Kel Dor used, his communications were in the form of hand signals and body language.  
  
The shuttle trembled as they entered the atmosphere. Random held a good grip on the armrest of his seat. Hanging on for dear life. Ryu however remained quiet and calm as he always was. With the expressionless mask giving him a special aura of mystic.  
  
The shuttle grew quiet from the constant chattering as the shuttle trembled even more. The boy in front of Random and Ryu received a nice green color in his face just before he got up and burst to the toilet.  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

A half hour later, the shuttle connected with the landingplatform. And the passenger room turned into chaos as all the teens wanted out as soon as possible. They had been in that spaceshuttle for nearly 2 days and desperately needed some fresh air.  
  
Yavin 4. A paradise of a moon. Ancient jungle that spread out like a emerald green carpet that covered most of the surface. Originally, this moon had been used as base many years ago when the empire was still dominating most of the galaxy. The temple was now used to train Jedi Knights from all over the galaxy.  
  
The sun was shining brightly on the blue sky and the birds were singing peacefully when they stepped out of the shuttle. The fantastic smell of the forest around them reached their noses. The sweet sent of millions of different flowers growing around the area killed the smell of the engines of the shuttle.  
  
Ahead of them was the mighty temple sticking up from the green roof of the peaceful forest. The ancient walls nearly overgrown by moss and branches. The students split up and walked towards the temple in social groups.  
  
"So this is Yavin 4. Looks much better than the advertisement, don't you think?" Random asked his friend and took the environment in a better look. This place was simply beautiful. Peaceful and fertile. The quiet Ryu just nodded in response. Random had to smile. He could answer even the longest question with a simple use of 'yes' or 'no'.

As the two of them walked towards the big temple, trying to keep up with the rest of the students, they came into a piece of the forest around the area. In a clearing nearby, they could spot a group of older Jedi students that practiced the use of a lightsaber on a weird construction of treetrunks together formed like a network.  
  
Jumping from trunk to trunk and sparred with each other. There was one guy there who seemed to fight alone against 5 others. Both Random and Ryu stopped to watch this amazing combination of balance, speed, technique and a few dirty tricks.  
  
"Wow...that's amazing. That's you and me in a few months, Ryu. I tell you that," Random said and looked over at Ryu. Only to see his friend grab him by the tunic and threw them both to the ground as a Swoop-bike passed just above their heads.  
  
The bike came back for them in a sharp curve and hovered in front of them, giving the driver the good view of them eating dust.  
  
"Hey, man!!!... Watch where you're driving!!" Random growled as he got up and brushed himself. Giving the driver an evil glare. But the driver didn't seem that impressed by his tough attitude and laughed at both him and Ryu.  
  
Removing the helmet, the driver wasn't a man. It was a human girl. Releasing her long brown hair from the grasp of the helmet it was no doubt what she was. Giving the two still a bit of upset boys a playful grin.  
  
"Want to keep your head on your shoulders, you better keep it down when I'm driving around," she said and got off the Swooper.  
  
"You two are new here, right?" she continued and walked over to them. Once on the ground, she didn't look so tough. She looked like she was 19 or something. A girl in her late teen with a tough attitude.  
  
"Yeah, we arrived here a few minutes ago. I'm Random, and this is my friend, Ryu," Random said.  
  
"Random...that's a funny name. I'm Kayley. I arrived here yesterday. Say, can't your friend introduce himself without help?" the girl said and took the quiet form of Ryu a closer look.  
  
"Um... Actually, no he can't. Ryu is a mute."  
  
"A mute?"  
  
"Yeah. You know, unable to speak."  
  
"Oh... that kind of mute."  
  
"But Kayley... do you have any idea when we get to meet the person that's going to be our master?" Random asked and looked back toward the temple.  
  
"Our group hasn't been summoned until now. I think now that both shuttles have returned with students, we're gonna be introduced at the same time. In about an hour if my memory serves me right," she said and turned back towards her Swooper.  
  
"I'll see you two chickens later then," she finished and speeded off on her vehicle. Leaving the two of them behind in the clearing. Ryu turned towards Random and signalized something with his hands.  
  
"Yeah, she's annoying," Random replied and started to walk towards the temple.  
  
'But damn, she was cute,' he thought to himself. If Ryu had heard that, he would certainly smack him.They both reached the temple without running into more trouble or Swoopers. Glancing up at the ancient walls that reached for the skies, they could both feel the strong aura of the force flowing through ever crack in the wall and every mark of time.  
  
This place was indeed magnificent. And it would be their home for the rest of their lives.  
  
At the front door, several people had gathered. Around 50 people of different races stood there and chattered, waiting for the door to open and their future to be revealed. The smell of tense and nervousness hung heavy in the air. Most of the group was still teenagers, inexperienced in combat and the harsh training that awaited them.  
  
The crowd quickly became silent as the doors opened and a golden clad Protocoldroide came walking towards them.  
  
"Greetings, students. I am C-3PO. If you all will follow me, I will take you to see Master Skywalker." As the droid turned around and started to walk into the temple, the whispering in the crowd started to grow again.  
  
Most of them knew who C-3PO was. The loyal droid who became famous throughout the galaxy as Luke Skywalker's friend and the one who made the victory at the battle of Endor 25 years earlier possible.  
  
After a few minutes of walking through the ancient corridors, they all entered a huge hall lit up by the sunlight at the other end. Standing there, proud and strong, stood a group of people side by side at the big window. And in the middle, an elder man dressed in black.  
  
Luke Skywalker was no longer the young and eager Jedi that had defeated his father and turned him back to the good side of the force the last minutes of his long life all those years ago. Not the man who had taken the responsibility of bringing the New Jedi Order into life. He was now an old man with a gray beard completing his weathered face. But he still had the look of the most powerful Jedi Master in the galaxy.  
  
Next to him on his right, stood another old hero. Kyle Katarn, known for his adventures and his efforts in saving the Jedi from Jerec and Desann many years ago. Equal to Luke's age, but still no weakling. His skills with the force and the lightsaber were still unmatched except by Luke himself.  
  
And to Luke's left stood the most famous student ever to be trained in the Jedi Academy. Jaden Korr, the famous Zabrak girl who alone had stood against the mighty Ragnos himself and won, saving hundreds of planets from his era of terror that could have been unleashed. Still a beautiful woman who even the greatest warrior would have to look up to.  
  
The students walked up to the front, quiet and filled with respect for the many Jedi Knights who looked back at them with eyes filled with hope. A hope in their souls that these kids would carry the name Jedi with honor.  
  
Everyone sat down in meditation style and looked back at their future masters and not one of them didn't feel the great tension that was about to burst out of their stomach. When everyone was seated, Master Skywalker stepped forward and looked through all their faces before he began to speak.  
  
"I would like to welcome all of you to you to your new home here at the Jedi Academy. I know that most of you must feel pretty nervous at this point. I can assure you that there is nothing to be worried about for the first few days.  
  
As you probably know, all Jedi have to start their training with constructing their own lightsaber to prove that they are sensitive to the force. After the lightsaber that will serve as your primary weapon is complete, you will begin to train how to use it effective and safely. You will train yourself in the use of the force every day and learn to evolve your own powers. You will all have the chance of learning both sides of The Force. Both light and the dark side. But even though you for instance learn a dark side force, it doesn't mean it's an evil thing. It's how you use them that determine good or evil.  
  
Jedi Knights are requested all over the galaxy to take on all kinds of missions. These missions are considered as natural parts of the training where you can put all you have learned into practical use.  
  
In addition to your combat training with both lightsabers, handguns and others, you all will study diplomacy and history considering most of the planets around the galaxy. You must remember that Jedi Knights are not just warriors, but we are also ambassadors and peacekeepers.  
  
In the old days, it was tradition to assign each student to one master, but even thought this academy have existed for over 10 years, we are still too few masters to pull that off. And since you are so many, I'm going to put you in groups consisting of seven students and one master. This group will travel on a mission together, and when the mission can become too dangerous, the master will follow. This group will also share the same sleeping chamber, so you will get to know each other pretty well." And with those words, the old master walked down to their level and started to split them all into groups.  
  
Random looked around at all the faces. This had to be one of the most exiting days he had ever had. And as Master Skywalker came closer to him and Ryu, the fuzzy feeling in his stomach grew with each second.  
  
"You seven here will be assigned to Master Korr," he said and pointed at Random, Ryu and five others. Following the lead of the other students who were assigned to other masters, they all walked towards the spot where Jaden Korr waited for them.  
  
Random was rather surprised that the girl they had run into earlier was in the same group. Along with two other humans and two Zabraks.  
  
"Okay, kids. I'm sure you are all tired from today's events, so I'm gonna let you have the rest of the day getting to know each other in your sleeping chamber, and we'll start the training tomorrow morning after breakfast," Jaden said and smiled as she heard everyone say the word: "Yes, ma'am". All of them, with the exception of the Kel Dor in the back.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
Safely in the sleeping chamber, they all flopped down in their beds, happy that this day was over. The feeling in the stomach had stopped and now they could just sit back and relax the rest of the day.  
  
Suddenly, one of the Zabraks sat up in his bed and looked at everyone.  
  
"Ey, listen up. Since we're gonna be mates for a while, I'd say we should at least introduce ourselves, aye?"  
  
They all looked at him, but soon nodded in agreement.  
  
"Alright. My name is Phoenix. I come from the planet Corellia with my sister here," Phoenix said and looked over to the other Zabrak in the bed next to him.  
  
"Um...hi. My name is Tween," she said shyly.  
  
"My name is Random. I'm from Coruscant. This is my best friend Ryu. He's from the planet Dorin like most of the Kel Dor. He can't speak, but it's pretty easy to understand his handsignals," Random said. Ryu waved his greetings at the rest of the room.  
  
"My name is Auron," a dark clad human said and waved his hand. His tough attitude could make any opponent think twice about messing with him.  
  
"I'm from Coruscant just like you, Random," he finished and looked over at Random. Then, a small woman sat up in her bed, looking at the rest of them.  
  
"Hi everyone... my name is Selene. I'm from the newly restored Echo Base on Hoth. Been living there my entire life," she said and smiled. The experience of seeing something so different from the ice planet Hoth had been a memory that would never be forgotten.  
  
And last, the girl with the Swooper spoke up.  
  
"My name is Kayley from Tattoine." she said and slung her legs over the edge of the bed.  
  
"Wow, wow, wow, wait a tick........ Kayley? The Swooper champion Kayley?" Phoenix asked and turned towards her.  
  
"Yeah that's me," Kayley replied with a proud smile.  
  
"Hey I've heard of you. You won the Beggar's Canyon race three years in a row, right?" Random asked.  
  
"Two years in a row. I came in second the first year."  
  
"Well, polish me horns, aye. Looks to me that we have at least some of the same interest," Phoenix said and rubbed the tip of his right spike sticking out of his head.  
  
"But Selene...I thought Echo Bace was abandoned years ago," Auron said.  
  
They kept talking to each other like this for hours. At least they had taken another step closer to a friendship. And as the sun slowly disappeared behind the mountains around the temple, the chatting in the sleeping chamber would last till midnight.  
  
And tomorrow, they would all take their place in destiny. Take their place in the road to becoming Jedi Knights.

End of chapter 1.  
  
To those who are fans of Star Wars know what kind of razes that is mentioned. IF not, then go visit the website of Jedi Academy. It's worth a look. And stay tuned for the next chapter. 


	2. Chapter 2

Jedi Academy  
  
The Magnificent Seven.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
(My first Jedi Knight story. Just so you know, Star Wars belongs to George Lucas. Bless his genius mind. So if anything is in violation of the Star Wars spirit, let HIM speak up. Thanks)  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
Some may say the first day in the Jedi training is one of the most challenging. The hard effort and sensitive work of actually build a lightsaber can put everyone's nerves at a test. It requires a highly controlled mind and a steady pair of hands to put all the necessary components together. But the real challenge is in the placement and adjustment of the two crystals that will form the energyblade. There has never been a manual for the position of those two, as the test is not only meant to construct one's weapon, but also to test if the students are sensitive to the force. If the crystal is placed in wrong, the saber might explode when activated.  
  
These words repeated themselves in the head of the seven young students under Jaden Korr's watchful gaze. She noticed the sweat and nervous looks on their faces. The small sparks popping out of the piece of metal they were all working on. Nobody said a word. They barely dared to breathe under the pressure that rested on their shoulders.  
  
Random felt his heart was about to skip a beat every time the spark appeared. He knew perfectly well the consequences if he should screw up on this one. Taking a few seconds break, he looked over to his friend, the silent Kel Dor known as Ryu. He didn't seem the least worried. But to tell the truth, as long as he wore that mask, nobody could tell about his features of his expressions. He seemed so calm and confident where he sat.  
  
They had been sitting around the huge table in their sleeping chamber for several hours now. Random switched his gaze from Ryu to Auron. Out of all the faces except Ryu's, he was the most relaxed of them. And he worked real fast too. He was already done with placing the two crystals and was now working with the skin of the saber. Auron had also helped the girl next to him, Selene, with some of the small electronic pieces.  
  
Kayley was also nearly done with her saber. With a hand steady as a mountain, she put the crystals into her saber and did the last adjustments on it.  
  
The two siblings, Phoenix and Tween didn't seem to have much problems with this. Except maybe Phoenix who constantly had to whistle. He said it was to lighten up the mood and aura in the room. He could only whistle for around ten seconds before the concentration made his mouth close.  
  
After another hour, they were all done and ready to test their sabers for the first time. The tension was so tensed you could cut through the air with a knife and serve it on a toast. They all stood on a row and held their weapon in front of them, looking at Jaden with hopeful eyes. And with Jaden's nod, they all activated them at the same time.  
  
The shadows in the room were quickly chased away as six new sources of light appeared. The familiar humming of the burning energy echoed through the room as gasps and cries of joy escaped the eager students. All but one.  
  
"Um... Jaden?...Mine doesn't work," Phoenix whined and got everyone's attention. Jaden walked over to him and took the lightsaber out of his hands and studied it. Her sharp sighting scanned the piece of metal like a hawk. Trying to figure out what was wrong. After a few seconds she smiled and looked at him.  
  
To everyone's surprise, especially Phoenix, Jaden simply twisted the bottom of the saber a half inch and the burning blade appeared just like the others had done.  
  
"Now it works," Jaden said and handed it back to him. The rest of the team shared a laugh and Phoenix grinned innocently at them. Just then, an Astrodroid came into the room carrying a bow on top of its head.  
  
"Thank you, R5," Jaden said and took the box of its head and watched as the curiosity rose in the eyes of the students. She took her hand into the box and pulled up a small Training Remote. One was given to each of them.  
  
"These Training Remote will help you to train with the lightsaber. It can be adjusted to all kinds of fire. From the low level that is just a small itch in the skin, to the real heavy ones that can actually hurt you. So be careful and don't do anything stupid. Remember, many students have hurt themselves badly simply because they wasn't custom with the light weapon. Last year, a student cut off his own arm in an attempt to do a quick swing attack," Jaden said.  
  
"Now why would that poor idiot do something like that, eh?" Phoenix asked.  
  
"Phoenix!! Shut up," Auron said and nudged him. His sister also gave him a warning glare. The young Zabrak grew a shameful look on his face and nearly shrunk into the floor.  
  
"Sorry," he whispered. Jaden looked skeptically at him with her right eyebrow raised. A sense of humor was okay, but there was a limit for everything. She told them that they would have the rest of the day to practice with the little hovering piece of mechanism. A little break now and then was acceptable, and tomorrow they would be sent out into the training courtyard to test their Force powers.  
  
And with those words, she left the chamber and closed the door behind her. The Force told her that these kids could really grow up to become a good group of Jedi Knights someday. They all looked promising, maybe a bit uncertain and unsure, but that would gradually be washed away as they progressed in their training.  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
The hours slowly passed like the clouds on the skies. Throughout the massive temple, the sounds of lightsabers cutting through air hissed like snakes, followed by the sound of a blast being blocked. Random sat down on his bed and took a breather. He as well as the others in the room had totally lost the track of time. On the floor, the only two left practicing was Ryu and Auron. The two of them seemed to have a little duel on which one of them who could do this longest without missing or taking a break.  
  
Looking casually to his left, Kayley sat down next to him on his bed and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She looked really exhausted.  
  
"Oooooh...your quiet friend doesn't look like he's tired," she said between catching her breath.  
  
"It's not easy to tell if he's tired or not, now is it?" Random replied and took a sip of his waterbottle, offering a little refreshment to her as well.  
  
"Thanks," Kayley said and took the bottle.  
  
"Hey, Phoenix...what's going on?" Random said out loud as Phoenix, Tween and Selene gathered around Ryu and Auron.  
  
"I'm placing my credits on Auron, and so is Selene here. Tween has placed her credits on yer friend here. Comeon, lad. 10 credits get ya in," Phoenix said and returned his attention to the two students who were both highly focused on the hovering little droid in front of them.  
  
"You guys are placing bets...?" Random snapped back.  
  
"Aye, we are" was all the response Phoenix said back. Kayley giggled and nudged Random in his arm. The message in her blue eyes was as clear as the skies outside their window. Play along.  
  
"Okay...I know we are ALL suppose to be training instead here but if you insist...30 credits on Ryu," Random said with his most confident voice. Everyone in the room except the two duelists and Kayley turned towards him.  
  
And under the metallic mask Ryu was wearing, he smiled.  
  
Phoenix started to grow nervous. Nobody places three times the normal bet unless he's 100% sure he's going to win. And it seemed clear that it also had its effect on Auron. His forehead suddenly became drenched with sweat as his mind told him he was challenging an opponent that was better than him. This unintentional rush of thoughts got him to lose his focus and move more and more clumsy. Until, a small beam hit him in the arm and the match was over for his part.  
  
A few seconds later, Ryu turned off his lightsaber and his remote hovered motionless in front of him. Turning towards Auron, he gave the defeated human a thumb-up for his courage and skills. Auron nodded in reply and turned off his own saber.  
  
"Pay up, Phoenix. I hope this little game has taught ya not to gamble," Tween said and turned towards her brother.  
  
"Nah. I never get tired of gambling," said the proud Phoenix. He never admitted defeat, not even when it was obvious that he screwed up.  
  
"Well, I've learned my lesson," Selene said and put her credits on the table. Looking over to Auron who seemed like he suffered a big hit in the pride.  
  
"Hey, cheer up, Auron. You can't win every time. Besides...it's just a stupid bet. No big deal," she continued.  
  
"Maybe... But I want a rematch one day. You and me, Ryu," Auron said and formed a sly smile on his face. The silent Kel Dor patted him on the shoulder.  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
"Okay, Random... You are acting team leader on today's training," Jaden Korr told the group of seven students the next day. The sun was shining brightly over the fertile training grounds surrounding the mighty Jedi Academy, and the day had come for them to test their knowledge of the Force on a team-based course.  
  
"I'm gonna talk to you through this comlink if there is any problems or questions, and it's up to you to tell the objects to the rest of the team. Let's see how you deal with the responsibility of being in charge with the rest... May the Force be with all of you," she finished and disappeared through an opening in the wall.  
  
Through the forest covered temple courtyard, the silence grew for each second. The tension between the team members was as sharp as a knife as all eyes rested on Random.  
  
"Ya okay there, mate?" Phoenix asked and tilted his head at him. Right now, it seemed like Random was somewhere else. At least not here on Yavin 4.  
  
"Okay...okay... We go this way... I think," Random said and turned towards one of the passages between the overgrown walls. The mixture of plants, stones and temple walls created a perfect road towards their training.  
  
The team followed hopefully after Random. Jaden had selected him to be the leader for today because of his reasonable and clear thinking. She knew perfectly his abilities she had selected him for would be put greatly at test here, but that would only prove her decision if he succeeded.  
  
Crawling out of a group of plants and wines attached to each other, they came upon a little problem. A huge gap in an ancient stone bridge that stood 50 ft above a river. Looking down to the shiny surface below, the river was calm and looked deep enough to survive a possible fall. Painful, but not lethal.  
  
"Okay.... this way is no good," Tween said and was about to turn and leave when her arm was grabbed by the three fingered hand of Ryu and turned her towards the bridge again. His other hand pointed towards the gap.  
  
"He's right... there are several pillars sticking up...we can use them to jump across, can't we?" Selene asked and turned towards Random, who kneeled down and examined the tiny platforms that would eventually lead them across this first obstacle.  
  
"I'll go first... just to make sure," Random said and stood up. Then he started to run towards the threatening ledge. His stomach jumped up into his throat as his feet lost contact with the ground. The landscape under the bridge revealed itself and for a moment, everything seemed to freeze in midair. Then he landed on the closest platform and stood dead silent. Trying to regain his balance.  
  
After this, he jumped from one platform to the next. Just like walking, he reminded himself. The space between the different platforms was huge, but with the Force as his ally, it wasn't as hard as it looked. Reaching the other end, he turned towards the rest, with a proud smile on his face.  
  
"There is nothing to it..." he called back. Clearly he was right, since Kayley broke into a run and skipped from one platform to the next like a little schoolgirl.  
  
"Wait, Kayley... you are going too fast!!!" Selene called to her.  
  
"There is not such thing as 'too fast'... not for me," she replied with a grin and jumped from the last platform and landed safe and sound next to a stunned Random. The rest of the team followed her example and jumped their way to the other side. A bit slower, that is.  
  
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Phoenix said and looked back the way they came.  
  
"No... but that was just one of the obstacles. The next is just ahead," Random replied and pointed to the end of the small canyon. A gigantic boulder blocked the road ahead.  
  
"Can we climb over it?" Tween asked as she put her hand on the rough surface of the boulder.  
  
"No... we are suppose to train us in the use of the Force, remember? There is something about this boulder that I'm not getting. It's too big to use Push on it, that'll just be plain waste of energy... Ruy, do you think we can move this thing by combining our powers?" Random asked and turned towards the quiet Ryu.  
  
The Kel Dor walked closer to the boulder and scanned it with his sharp eyes. Up and down, left to right. Until he turned towards them and nodded, confirming that they could do this.  
  
"Okay, people. Let's all focus and let's give this boulder the most powerful Force Push of its existence," Random said and they all formed a line in front of the boulder and closed their eyes. Seeking down to their storage of Force power, awakening an unknown strength in them they somehow felt familiar, comforting and stronger than they had ever expected.  
  
"NOW!!!" Random yelled and focused all his strength on this action. And the rest followed his lead and gave everything they had into the push.  
  
And to their pride, the boulder cracked and tore itself out of the canyon. Falling with a huge thunder to the ground and opened the pass for them. A huge cloud of dust hurled into the air and nearly created another wall in front of them. The students stared in awe at their accomplishment. They had done it.  
  
"AYE! AYE! Who are the masters? We are the masters!!" Phoenix cheered and did a little victory dance with his sister. An unknown series of high-fives and cheering echoed through the little canyon as the team celebrated their first common victory. Until Random became silent and listened to the comlink, and in it he heard Jaden's voice.  
  
"Guys, listen to this. Master Jaden congratulates us. None of the other groups has been able to move that boulder. Even Master Skywalker and Master Katarn are seriously impressed!!"  
  
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's move on with the training and celebrate this at home," Selene said and received everyone's blessing on her suggestion.  
  
After another two hours of fighting and thinking their way through the overgrown forest outside the temple, they came upon a clearing where Jaden sat on top of a huge boulder and applauded them with a proud smile on her face.  
  
They had gone through the toughest training that was given to newcomers. Where Push, Pull, Speed and Force Sense were all strongly put at test. Teamwork and logical thinking was also combined during most of the obstacles.  
  
"I cannot remember a time where I have seen such a demonstration of control skills and teamwork in this academy. You have all reason to celebrate," Jaden said and jumped with such grace down to the grass they could have sworn she was flying. For an adult, she clearly wasn't slowed down with age.  
  
"Does that mean today's lessons are over?" Auron asked. To his reply, Jaden simply nodded at them. Then Ryu moved his hand in a short series of hand signals.  
  
"It's alright, Ryu. If you want to celebrate this, then go to the cantina and pick anything you want. As for payment, tell the chef to put it on my account. You have deserved to enjoy the rest of the evening," Jaden said and smiled.  
  
"On one condition... that you leave something for me later when my work is over," she finished and disappeared towards the temple. The others would follow her after a few minutes of congratulation they shared with each other.  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
The next morning, the team was woken early by Jaden and ordered to meet her in the hangar. She said she had something very important to tell them.  
  
Last nights celebration had been fun and social. Eating and drinking the best soda in the galaxy, talking to each other and sharing stories of their past. Of the group, Jaden had told the best stories about her missions during her time here at the Jedi Academy.  
  
But now, a few hours after, they were forcing themselves out of their beds, and then groggily dressed themselves.  
  
"What's the big deal of waking us up on a time like this?" Kayley wanted to know. The answer remained unheard and unknown, since they all merely growled in aggravation. The sun wasn't even over the mountains yet and here they were, dressed up like they were going on a mission of some sort.  
  
Making their way through the ancient halls of the temple and past the empty food hall. Not even a single person passed them.  
  
"Is it just me, or are we the only nutcrackers up before the birds fart around here? It's not even time for breakfast..." Phoenix said with a growl.  
  
Upon entering the hangar, they were met by the sight of Jaden standing before a space shuttle with a smile attached on her face. At first, everyone wanted to ask what she wanted, but seeing the shuttle, they knew why she brought them here. The gnawing silence was broken by her voice.  
  
"This in one of the two dozens of space shuttles that Coruscant has given to our academy. Compliments of Mon Mothma herself. The Jedi Cruiser, JC 506, is a heavily armored vessel that can travel nearly twice past lightspeed. With passenger capability of 20 people, she is also equipped with 7 very modified swooper bikes. Enough food, water and air for a crew of 20 to survive a week on literally any planet marked by The New Republic.  
  
An own storage for medical equipment and attention, a small armory of carefully selected weapons and a communication transmitter that covers most of the galaxy. All this brought together, she is very special gift to us all," Jaden said and patted the gray steel skin.  
  
"I take it you don't show us this just because she's beautiful...?" Random said and took the whole ship into view.  
  
"Is this ship really OURS???" Kayley gasped and nearly fell over.  
  
"Well, technically, she's mine. But I'm not going to use her. She's all yours. And you don't even have to pay the fuel," Jaden finished and smiled at them. Their stunned figures was only snapped back to reality as Kayley rushed aboard the shuttle, leaving them very little choice but to follow.  
  
Their feeling of tiredness was successfully wiped away as they eager students examined every detail about their new toy. Kayley immediately ran into the cockpit and flopped down in the flight seat, feeling how perfectly the joystick fit in her tiny hands. This was her dream coming to life. Finally she was a pilot.  
  
Back in the main room of the ship, the rest of the students familiarized themselves with the shuttle's layout. They all grew quiet as Jaden cleared her throat.  
  
"Now to the bad news. I was instructed to inform you that an hour ago, we received an emergency signal from the planet of Blenjeel. A cargo ship carrying Bacta containers was hit by a meteor and had to perform an emergency landing in the middle of the desert. We don't know if there are any survivors, but your first mission will be to locate the crash site and rescue the two pilots. If they didn't make it, your second objective is to receive the ships log and bring it back to the academy. You will leave at once," Jaden said and looked from one face to the next, noticing the stiff expressions imprinted on their faces.  
  
"There is a slight risk that you might run into some Sand Burrowers, so try to do the job quick and painless. May the Force be with all of you," she finished and left the shuttle. Leaving the students with maybe a thousand questions.  
  
"Okay, ladies and gentlemen. Strap yourself to the closest seat and prepare for liftoff. Random, you are in the seat next to me," Kayley said and patted the co-pilot seat next to her.  
  
Checking that all systems were operational and ready for take off, the shuttle lifted itself from the hangar floor and hovered towards the exit. Kayley was thrilled to sit behind the joystick of this thing. It was a dream to fly this thing, and as soon as the shuttle was out in the free air she speeded up and towards outer space with great speed.  
  
Setting the coordinates to Blenjeel. Their first mission was starting.  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
That's the end of chapter 2.  
  
I hope this was satisfying. I really did my best with this one. Now if you have some idea of a possible mission for them, please feel free to tell me, either in the review or as an ordinary mail. Just remember to call the "subject" of the mail for Jedi Missions. If not, the mail will go to junkmail and be deleted. All missions are acceptable since this story will not consist of ONE gigantic mission, but several small ones. Just like the game. And now for my faithful reviewers, I have a little bonus for ya.  
  
Shalashaska-001: Don't give me more credits than I deserve. I'm just doing my job and I know there are better stories in my library than this one. But thanks anyway.  
  
Mr. X: I had several versions of Jaden Korr, and decided to use the Zabrak model in this story. Not all Jedi's are human, and not all human can become Jedi's.  
  
Jays Arraven: Glad this has yer attention. I appreciate it and hope to see more of you around.  
  
John: Yeah, picturing Luke and Kyle as old men can be pretty tough. But it's also quite funny. Age matters not. Just look at Yoda.  
  
Zeroray: Don't worry about it. Why Random is called random will be revealed in a soon-to-come chapter. As for suggestions, I take any suggestions I can get my eyes on. My job is not to satisfy my own desires, but the desires of the readers.  
  
Only4gameboyadvanceSP: Fantastic, eh? Thank you so much. I'm aware that there might be some small errors in the words and spelling, but all I can say is "Live with it".  
  
Snowy Fox: What can I say to ya? I hope this was soon enough. It's nice to see new reviewers appearing.  
  
Until next time, my friends. Peace out. 


	3. Chapter 3

Jedi Academy  
  
The Magnificent Seven.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
(My first Jedi Knight story. Just so you know, Star Wars belongs to George Lucas. Bless his genius mind. So if anything is in violation of the Star Wars spirit, let HIM speak up. Thanks)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

One often wonders if hyperspace is a parallel universe next to our own, or that what you see truly is planets and stars passing you faster than the eye can see. But to see the blue light, the first alternative is mostly the most common.  
  
Kayley looked over the instruments in the cockpit for the tenth time in thirty seconds. According to the map, they were halfway to Blenjeel. She felt somehow stressed, or could it be the excitement of being the pilot on a ship?  
  
The door behind her opened and Random stepped inside, holding two plates filled with food. His features could be called relaxed and carefree, especially since his job was simply to help her if anything went wrong.  
  
"Thought you might be hungry..." he said and put the plate down, taking his comfortable seat next to her. Kayley gave him a polite smile and dug in, feeling a bit hungry, as they haven't gotten the time to have breakfast yet until now.  
  
"Random...can I ask you something?" Kayley suddenly said after swallowing a piece of her meal. Random turned his chair towards her and nodded.  
  
"How did you get that name of yours...? I'm sure your REAL name isn't Random," she said and tilted her head, waiting for an answer.  
  
Random was stunned. Never before had anyone questioned his name, mainly because everyone else who knew him simply accepted that he had a strange name. But he felt he needed to reward her for her curiosity and courage.  
  
"Well, I got the name from my father. When I was still a boy he grew tired of addressing me by my real name. So he made a simple version of it, and I've carried it ever since," he said with a smile.  
  
"And what's your real name then?" Kayley pushed. Not allowing him to leave the room before he told her. Random sighed and gave in. Surprised that he had given in so soon.  
  
"Randalliguhm..." he answered and just waited for her to laugh at him. Something she surprisingly didn't do. For now. "Oh... now I understand why he gave it to you," she replied, nearly letting a giggle escape her lips.  
  
"Hey, Random?!! I need yer help back here, ya wee puppy," they suddenly heard Phoenix call from the back of the ship. Random sighed and stood up, giving Kayley a last look.  
  
"Sure you can handle this yourself?" he asked.  
  
"Yes I am. Thank you so much for breakfast, Randalliguhm..." she said with a huge smile. Random turned towards the door and rolled his eyes, realizing now that he should never had said it. And he confirmed that as the door behind him closed itself and he heard Kayley burst out in uncontrollable laughter.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Coming out of hyperspace, the Jedi Cruiser easily entered the atmosphere around Blenjeel and made their way towards the last reported position of the cargo ship. The turbulence shook the ship, but even with breakfast in their stomachs, nobody had to visit the toilet for a quick refunding. Not even when Kayley started to roll the ship to check out the maneuverability of the ship. Laughing hysterically, Kayley continued to roll the ship until she heard Phoenix in the back.  
  
"KAYLEY!!! Will ya stop this at once? Yer spilling all our drinks back here!!!" Sighing, she obeyed the orders coming from the party-breaker and steadied the ship.  
  
Kayley checked the map-reader and scouted the landscape under them for a place to land. This was the part of Blenjeel that was mostly covered in mountains and narrow passes. If the ship crash-landed here, it was doubtful that anyone survived. But suddenly, something caught her attention. Smoke in the distance.  
  
Roaring over the sky, Kayley saw right down in a valley where the ship was located. She knew instantly that they wouldn't find any survivors. The sharp cliffs surrounding the valley seemed to have sliced the ship in three. The smoke came from the rear part where one engine was still partly active.  
  
But not enough space to land here, she thought and turned the ship due west, down a rather wide passage where their swoopers would prove highly useful. But this wouldn't be a walk in the park. Rather a walk in a maze.  
  
The canyons looked like a network of passes that went in all different directions. But she couldn't stop until she found a suitable place to land. A place that was connected with the passage leading to the wreck.  
  
Finally finding an open area, she settled the huge ship down and touched the sand with no problems at all. This ship was a dream to fly. Opening the cargo hold, the swoopers now had direct access to the planet. Following the main path to the east, they would soon enough find the ship. And in these narrow passages, the Sand Burrowers would have problems with digging their way through.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After an hour of driving back and forth through the rough canyons that threw the sound of their swoopers back and forth in the same rhythm, they came upon the open valley where the cargo ship was located. Or more precisely, what's left of it.  
  
The cliffs around the valley had done a lot of damage and had ripped the ship in three major pieces with several smaller pieces of the ship lying all around them. Smoke could still be seen coming from the fuel tank and the last functional engine. Sparks still lit up some of the cable boxes. Something that indicated that the ship still had a functional powersource.  
  
They parked the swoopers and dismounted them, taking the valley at closer look. The wind howled through the passages around the valley and sand blew gently across the golden surface of the desert.  
  
"I don't see a welcome-committee... Looks like we missed quite a party," Phoenix said and looked around them. Nobody was here.  
  
"Shouldn't we get to solid ground? I mean, Master Jaden said to look out for Sand Burrowers," Selene said and looked around nervously at the ground.  
  
"Nah. These cliffs are solid rock, and those blasted critters can't climb. We're safe here," Auron said and threw a rock towards the ship. The next second, the feeling of safety was washed away like top sand on the ground in a storm.  
  
The spot where the rock hit the ground suddenly turned into a gigantic mouth with razor sharp teeth and several jaws. The gigantic monster roared like thunder as it stood 20 ft above the ground and turned towards the seven. And it was not alone.  
  
Tween sensed it first as she took a step back in horror over the size of this Sand Burrower. Then the ground under her feet started to move a bit and tremble. Reacting quick as lightening, she threw herself forward to avoid the second Sand Burrower who had simply waited for the right moment to burst through the sand like a torpedo.  
  
Phoenix stared in horror at his sister as the creature came up and managed to get a hold of her right leg, lifting her 10 ft above the ground. Tween screamed in pain as a burning sensation sent terrible shockwaves up her leg. She was now dangling from the monsters mouth. But as Phoenix tried to come to his sister's aid, the monster had already hurled up a wall of dust and made it impossible to see anything. Until a green flash of light appeared next to Phoenix.  
  
Ryu. The silent Kel Dor ran through the wall of dust, unaffected by it as his metal mask covered both his eyes and his mouth. With his lightsaber activated, he used all force to jump right into the Sand Burrower and plunged the glowing blade into the worm-like body of the monster.  
  
Feeling the destructive energy penetrating its skin, the Sand Burrower roared of all its might in indescribable pain. And opening its jaws like that, Tween felt her leg was released and she fell towards the ground.  
  
Once again, Ryu acted on instinct and jumped towards her and caught her mid air, landing next to Phoenix and pulled him with him towards the broken ship. The Sand Burrower was starting to ignore the pain and in pure anger, it launched itself into the sand and followed them.  
  
Random, Kayley, Auron and Selene had distracted the biggest Sand Burrower and doubled back towards the ship as they saw Ryu and the two Zabraks making their way to shelter. With the four humans constantly running around in circles the large predator had difficulties of deciding whom to chase. Now, the insult of being fooled made the gigantic monster rush towards the ship.  
  
Using the Force to jump up to the inside of the ship, Random instantly remained at the edge and watched as the three remaining team members closed up on them. Ryu and Phoenix supporting Tween in the run. Tween looking like she was about to faint, Phoenix like he was about to turn around and fight the beast, and Ryu... he looked like himself.  
  
The two males managed to jump up to the cargo hold where the rest waited for them, just in time to escape the jaws of death that closed behind them in a terrible explosion followed by the sound of metal being crushed.  
  
"That was close enough to smell the last meal, eh?" Phoenix said and rested his back down on the steel floor and let out a breath. Auron slapped his spiky head for joking about such a dangerous situation.  
  
Lying on the floor, Ryu looked down to the twisted face of Tween, while Phoenix looked over the edge and with Random, saw the furious Sand Burrowers trying to get up to them.  
  
Selene ran over to the wounded Zabrak and kneeled down by her side, looking at her leg. Several open wounds scarred her bare leg as blood streamed down her skin. The face of the young girl was tensed, trying her best to ignore the pain, but with sand inside the wounds, it was hard for her to keep her mask up.  
  
"My parents served as medical officers at Hoth. I've learned a great deal about patching people up. First I need something to use as bandage and clean water," Selene said and lay Tween down on the floor. Phoenix quickly handed her his bottle of water and Ryu ripped his outer tunic off and gave it to the young medic.  
  
"Kayley, Auron. You two search the ship for bacta. Even if only one container has a few drops left, bring it here. I need to use it to clean and disinfect the wounds," Selene said and sent the two of them to find a container that was undamaged.  
  
"What do you want me to do then?" Random asked.  
  
"Find a way to escape this place. The sooner we get her to the ship, the bigger chance she has to avoid infection," Selene replied and let Tween drink some of the water from her brother's bottle. Ryu shredded his tunic to several long bandages hoping they would prove useful.  
  
Random nodded and climber to a higher part of the wreck to examine the area around them. From up here he spotted that the two Sand Burrowers had obviously called for the rest of the family. Now he could see at least six or seven of them digging their way through the sand outside the ship. Constantly looking for food. That's the standard circle of life for countless other creatures around the universe. Feed, survive and spawn more of their kind. Right not, the second was the thing that lingered in his mind. Survival.  
  
Their only chance to get back to the ships was to use the swoopers. Or at least the one that worked. When his eyes looked over to the place they had parked the hovering bikes, they were all lying in a pile.  
  
Except Kayley's since she had parked hers on top of a rock, but not all of them could get away on one swooper and they couldn't exactly drive back and forth to pick up the entire team.  
  
No. One of them would have to get back to the ship and use it for pickup. But the question was...who?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kayley and Auron had found at least a gallon of useful bacta and Selene dipped the bandages of Ryu's tunic in the healing liquid and used some of it to wash her leg clean of blood and sand. Luckily she hadn't broken her leg.  
  
Auron went back to search some more. For both bacta and supplies and equipment that could be useful in order to survive. Kayley offered herself to take Ryu's place so that he could assist his best friend in finding a way out of here. The quiet Kel Dor nodded and lingered a few seconds with letting go of Tween's hand.  
  
Climbing up towards the place where Random scouted the area, Ryu looked back to the wounded girl and under the solid surface of the mask, he let a sigh escape his lungs before jumping up next to Random.  
  
"I saw that," Random replied and gave his friend a quick glance before looking back at the desert. Ryu turned his face towards him, not changing a single expression.  
  
"What you did was very brave, Ryu. I've gotta give that to you," Random continued. And Ryu replied with a few hand signals. Though it wasn't easy always to translate it considering he only had three fingers on each hand, his meaning was clear.  
  
"Yeah I know. She is attractive. And I think she would appreciate if you stayed with her. I don't need help up here. Right now all I need is some peace and quiet to think," Random continued and sat down on the ledge, looking to the ground and how to get over to the swoopers without ending up like snack. Ryu patted his old friend on the back and climbed back down.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Tween slowly opened her tired eyes and felt that the pain in her leg no longer burned so intense that she could barely breathe, but it felt rather cooling. Selene sat a few ft away and dipped the rest of the reserve bandages in bacta, while Phoenix helped Auron with searching the ship. Suddenly, Ryu got her attention as he offered her his water bottle. He sat right next to her and kept her company. And her dry throat was grateful for the blessing coming from the cold water in small controlled sessions.  
  
"Ya...ya saved me life, Ryu. Thank you..." Tween said and tried to force a smile but she was just too tired to do so. Ryu looked down on her face and waved his hand, meaning: 'forget about it'.  
  
Above them, Random was accompanied by Kayley who climbed up to see the area around them for herself. She had to nudge his shoulder in order to get his attention.  
  
"What you got in mind, Random? A plan hopefully..." Jayley said and flopped down next to him. The young man's expression was still in deep thoughts, but he had heard her.  
  
"Your swooper is our key out of here. One of us has to get over there without getting eaten, start it up, head through the maze of cliffs, to the ship and get back here to pick us all up. That's pretty much it," Random said.  
  
"And by 'one of us' you mean yourself, is that it? Random, no, I won't let you do it," Kayley said and raised her voice.  
  
"Listen to me. Jaden gave me the role as leader, whatever I liked it or not. I didn't like her decision, but I'm stuck with it now. So it's my job to make sure that you all return to the academy safe and sound," Random replied and turned to face her.  
  
"That's right, she did. But your job is to stay here and look after the others. If anyone should go, then it's me and me alone," Kayley protested and stood up, looking down at him.  
  
"Do you know how to pilot that ship, or hover just above your heads so you can jump up? I can, and I will," Kayley continued. Random stood up and was about to say something back, but he stopped as he looked down at her face and into her eyes. She believed in herself, and her eyes pleaded him to feel the same thing.  
  
He found himself giving her the nod. Her face lit up and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. She suddenly flashed her eyes open and pulled away from him. Clearing her throat and looking a bit embarrassed, just the same expressions could be found on Random.  
  
Saved by the bell, Auron climbed up on the level they were on and looked at the two blushing kids.  
  
"Did I interrupt something here?"  
  
"Not at all, Auron. Wassup?" Random asked.  
  
"Well, the communication on this ship is down, I found the pilot in the cockpit who I believe died during the crash. Phoenix informed me that there are no useful food or water supplies left in this ship. That's the bad news."  
  
"And the good news?"  
  
"I've found the ships log-file, so our mission is partly accomplished. And Selene tells me that Tween is going to make it out okay. The wounds were cleaned up and she's sleeping peacefully and with no pain. Ryu is keeping her warm with Phoenix. Now is it just me, or do I hear sweet music between our quiet warrior and the charming Zabrak?" Auron finished and smiled at them.  
  
"Who knows? Ryu has always had a soft soul. But enough of that, Auron. Kayley is going to take her swooper back to our ship and pick us up. But the only thing that still bothers me is how to get pass all those Sand Burrowers. I mean, there is at least a half dozen of them around us now, all of them waiting for one of us to step into the sand," Random said. His face showing clear signs of being worried.  
  
"What you need is a distraction. I mean, these creatures are as you say just waiting for one of us to step out there. But what if what steps out there isn't one of us?" Auron said and sat down.  
  
"You mean a decoy? But who and what can be used here for that?" Kayley asked and looked from Auron to Random and back again. A minute of silence passed before Random spoke up.  
  
"We'll use this," he said and held up a thermal detonator.  
  
"If these creatures hunt by following sound, what will be most tempting between light footsteps and an explosion? And if we're lucky, they will track it as it bounces across the sand and might swallow it before it detonates. Bad for them, good for us."  
  
Auron and Kayley shared a look, but agreed with Random's suggestion. It might work. Now it was the scary difference of theory and real life. If it DIDN'T work... what then?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"And ya really expect that to work?" Phoenix said in disbelief as Random explained the plan in front of the team. He wasn't surprised to hear that the young Zabrak disapproved the idea, but neither did it take long to convince him that it was the only way.  
  
"Okay, but how many thermal detonators did we bring?" Auron asked and looked over at Random.  
  
"Only one, so you better run fast, Kayley. I've set the time-delay to twelve seconds and calculating that the flight will take four seconds and the explosion will distract them for two, I'd say you have exactly ten seconds to get over there before every Sand Burrower in this bloody valley will be on your tail," Random explained and looked over at Kayley.  
  
"Twelve minus four plus two, got it," the young girl said. Though her voice was rock-hard, her expressions shower fear. So much depended on her now.  
  
"Aye, so no stopping to buy souvenirs," Phoenix said in an attempt to ease up the mood again.  
  
"Okay then. Let's do this. Auron, accompany me to the roof, Kayley, get to the opening and await my signal," Random finished and the team split up. Kayley suddenly grabbed Random's arm and held him back.  
  
"Random... If I don't make it, promise that you'll find another way to get them out of here alive..." Kayley said with a sad voice. Like she wasn't coming back at all. Random looked down at her hand and back up into her eyes.  
  
"Don't worry... I have faith in you. May the Force be with you," Random said and the two of them squeezed each other's hands. Looking at him for a few seconds, Kayley turned away and ran towards the other end of the ship. Somehow, she didn't felt the feeling of dread over her anymore.  
  
The golden landscape glowed with its golden light at them as Random and Auron stood on the edge of the broken ship and prepared themselves for throwing out the decoy. Random held the thermal detonator firmly in his hand while Auron had ripped off a steel pipe lose from the ship and tested the balance of his new rod.  
  
"Just like playing baseball back at Coruscant, eh Random?" Auron joked and held the pipe in hit-position. Random smiled and looked to the other end where Kayley looked back at them. Giving the two boys a nod, she was ready.  
  
"Yeah... except that if you miss the first ball, the whole team is out," Random replied and moved his hand back to throw. Auron gave him the final nod, and the familiar 'beep' escaped the metallic ball as it left Random's hand.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Down in the cargo hole, Ryu, Phoenix, Selen and Tween heard a sharp 'whack' echo through the cold walls. And through the opening at the end of the ship, a small object flew through the air like a bullet. Now, their fate rested in the hands of a young human girl named Kayley.  
  
Random followed the thermal detonator with his eyes all the way. Like things were moving in slow motion, the ball of death made its way towards a sand hill and bounced off the ground, continuing to bounce forward. Down below, the sand was shoved away as several Sand Burrowers made their way after it.  
  
"NOW!!! GO, GO, GO!!!!" Random yelled and watched as Kayley jumped out of sight. Running towards where she had jumped, they could see her running for dear life towards her swooper. Her body was moving at incredible speed. She used the Force to move faster than any normal human could ever do. The ten seconds seemed to be over too soon as a huge explosion came from behind them, followed by several roars coming from the monsters under ground.  
  
Kayley finished her run in a jump and landed on her swooper. Her hand quickly found the way to the start button, but as she pressed it, the swooper didn't activated. Her mind nearly froze and her whole body tensed. The swooper didn't start.  
  
She quickly turned her head and spotted several dust trails coming towards her at great speed. The decoy was up and now they all could hear her. They wanted blood. They wanted flesh. They wanted her.  
  
On the brink of panic, she tried again and again to start the engine, but her ticket out of here was protesting. Her ears no longer caught the sound of Random and Auron yelling at her to move. The thundering sound from her heart overthrew anything else.  
  
Then, as the closest Sand Burrower was only 20 ft away, the engine roared and the whole swooper started to tremble. Not spending time to celebrate it, Kayley snapped the swooper into gear and shot forward like an arrow. Just in time to avoid the crushing force from the Sand Burrower who threw itself towards her.  
  
Random and Auron felt like their hearts was stuck way up in their throat as they saw the monster miss her with a few inches. Random felt all strength in his legs disappeared and fell back and hit the floor under him with a thud.  
  
"Did the crazy pilot escape, or what?" Phoenix called from down below.  
  
"Yeah... she made it," Auron called back and fell down next to Random, both boys breathing in quick gasps. Auron put his head to the side and looked over to the leader.  
  
"You okay there, R? You don't look so good."  
  
"I'm feeling like something wants to come out of my chest. And not in a good way," Random replied.  
  
"You got a nice swing with the baseball bat, Auron. I'll give you that," Random continued.  
  
"Thanks. If this Jedi business doesn't kick off, I could always go pro back home."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A half hour later, they all sat down in the cooling shadows in the cargo hold. The wind blew through the broken wreck and managed to help them from overheating. They hadn't heard anything from the Sand Burrowers, but nobody expected any of them to be gone. Nobody had said anything for a long time. The everlasting silence between them was starting to annoy them and make them nervous.  
  
"Shut up, Phoenix," Auron suddenly said and everyone wake up.  
  
"What? I haven't said anything yet," Phoenix replied and glared at Auron. Selene sighed at them and looked over at Ryu and Random.  
  
"You were about to," Auron said.  
  
"Aye, good point."  
  
Sensing that Auron was now in his more annoying mood, Phoenix decided not to make any more jokes and walked towards the edge of the ship. Kicking a piece of metal out into the open, he flopped down on the edge and let his feet dangling. But to his shock, his feet touched the sand.  
  
With a yelp, he rolled backwards and pulled his legs up. The second he did that, a huge mouth burst through the sand and attacked him. The Sand Burrower managed to get onto the ledge and shoot its jaw out to catch the panicking Zabrak who was just out of its reach.  
  
The entire team jumped to their feet, with the exception of Tween who still couldn't use her leg properly. Looking outside, the sand stood higher than before and the furious Sand Burrower who tried to crawl inside the cargo hold confirmed that. The deep roaring cut through their ears and overthrew them all with fear.  
  
Random, Ryu and Auron activated their lightsabers and charged the blind monster. Trying to force it back down. If the gigantic monster managed to get its full body inside, their chances of survival would diminish.  
  
The trembling sound of energyblades echoed through the room and lit up the cold walls with a glowing light. The three Jedi formed a wall of hacking swords, nicking the raging jaws since moving too close could be fatal. But the Sand Burrower refused to give up and launched up onto the floor, snapping its huge jaw at the three of them. Due to the huge addition of weight, the whole ship started to fall over and let the broken edge sink into the sand.  
  
"The roof!!" Random yelled and tried not to lose balance and fall into the jaws of death as two other Sand Burrowers crawled out of the sand and towards them. The whole wreck part lifted at the other end and caused several crates to slide down towards the raging Sand Burrowers. Selene and Phoenix helped each other to get Tween up to the roof, when Selene turned around and saw the upcoming disaster.  
  
"Boys!!! Behind you!!!" she cried out. The three boys looked behind them and jumped over the crates, seeing the metallic boxes crash into the Sand Burrowers and forced them out of the ship. Now that the devastating weight on one side was gone, the ship fell down again with a crash. Phoenix, Selene and Tween barely managed to hold on, but the three boys inside the ship fell stumbling into the wall.  
  
Quickly realizing the Sand Burrowers were temporarily gone, they got back on their feet and climbed as quickly as possible towards the roof. Feeling for once today, the sweat running down their skin was cold as ice.  
  
As the three boys came on top of the roof, the sound of the crates being crushed and ripped to shreds entered their ears and sent cold waves all the way down to their toes. Nobody said anything as fearful looks were imprinted on their faces. Looking over the edge, Ryu saw how on earth the Sand Burrowers had gotten up.  
  
All the monsters were circling around the ship's edges and shoved the sand away. Slowly, but steady making the ship 'sink' in the ocean of golden sand. Already now, the sand started to enter the cargo hole. It would now be a matter of minutes before the ship would be swallowed by the planet surface.  
  
And still no sign of Kayley.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The minutes went on, and the ship continued to sink. The burning sun tortured their bare skin and caused them to lose their strength and will to stay awake. Tween had fainted, with her brother holding her close under the protection of his arm. Random and Ryu were both constantly looking towards the ridge of the cliffs surrounding the valley. All that fed their patience was the howling wind and the deep growling coming from under ground.  
  
Half of the cargo hole was filled with sand now and the Sand Burrowers were working faster now. It sounded like the monsters were fighting each other to get the best place for the coming feast.  
  
The group gathered up against each other and held a close watch to their directions. The moving sand came into view and the boys activated their lightsabers. Their first mission was about to turn into their last stand. If these creatures wanted them for food, they would have to fight for it.  
  
It was then the sky was beautifully decorated with the Jedi Cruiser coming towards them over the ridge. The humming from the engines became as sweet as a lullaby to the six tired Jedi students. Kayley waved at them from the cockpit and maneuvered the ship down towards them.  
  
The sand hurled into the air as the ship drew closer and closer to the surface of the planet. But the power form the engines that hit the ground, wasn't all helpful. The second Auron and Ryu jumped up into the ship with Tween, the big Sand Burrower shot out of the sand and onto the little platform.  
  
Random, Auron and Phoenix was scattered into all directions and landed roughly on the ground. Realizing the peril they had gotten themselves into, the boys quickly jumped back up on their feet and ran for cover. Now the Sand Burrowers showed great activity now that dinner was served.  
  
Phoenix wasted no time on getting to the second part of the smashed ship like Random and Auron did, but instead ran towards the open door of the Jedi Cruiser. Running for his live, he quickly realized that the opening was too high to be jumped at, but his quick mind formulated a plan.  
  
Stopping dead in his tracks, he moved his foot in front of himself and stomped the ground before he retreated the foot. The next second, a Sand Burrower burst upwards from the place he stomped and furiously snapped its jaw into thin air. Phoenix had expected this and used the Force to speed up and run up the side of the living tower of death, focusing the remaining Force energy to jump up and grab the ledge of the ship, quickly being pulled aboard by Ryu. But Random and Auron had big problems with avoiding the Sand Burrowers who attacked them. Driven to the brink of madness by their hunger, they launched out of the sand and tried to land over them or in front of them.  
  
This left very little time for the two boys from Coruscant to think. They acted on instinct now. If something came from the side, dive forward, if something came underneath, jump forward, if something came in front, jump over it. All that really mattered now was to get to the rear end of the fallen ship. This was like running through a living minefield.  
  
The two managed to get to the side of the wreck part and climbed like crazy up to the top. Random felt the air under his boot grow hot as the sound of a massive jaw crashed close right under him.  
  
Looking over to the Jedi Cruiser, the huge ship was moving towards them. This time, the Sand Burrowers couldn't do anything to prevent them from entering. The powerful wind from the engines keeping the shuttle in the air didn't mean anything now as they jumped up to the ledge and dragged themselves onboard. Looking back at the monsters that still tried to drag the broken ship under the sand.  
  
The engines roared louder and the Jedi Cruiser speeded up towards the sky, starting the long way back to the academy. Creating the safest distance from the monsters the team had been all day. Next stop now would be the comforting beds in their quiet little chamber back at Yavin 4.  
  
Selene helped Tween into the little sickbay and gave her a proper treating. Ryu, Phoenix and Auron settled in their seats and tried to regain their breath. Random made his way to the cockpit and found a dusty looking girl at the wheel, giving him an innocent smile.  
  
"You are late," Random said and flopped down in the co-pilot seat. Kayley shrugged at him.  
  
"Traffic."  
  
The sharp light of the sky surrounding the remote planet Blenjeel suddenly turned into a dark scenario filled with millions of comforting stars dancing in the front window. The ship had broken through the atmosphere and it felt almost as if they had stopped the second the sublight engines got to work outside the atmosphere.  
  
"We made it, Random. We recovered the ships log and avoided any casualties. Ain't that something...? I've learned that my sense of direction still needs a bit of practice," Kayley said and started the countdown to engage the hyperdrive.  
  
"That's good. I've learned to never go fishing with worms as bait anymore." That was Random's last words as his eyes closed and he drifted away into deep sleep in his comfy seat. The humming from the hyperdrive that activated didn't disturb his dreams as he found himself back at Yavin 4, taking a refreshing swim in the quiet nice river just outside the temple.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That's the end of chapter 3.  
  
A bit long, but hopefully, it didn't suck. I really got scared during the Blenjeel mission meself, but I always enjoy playing it. Since it scares me, it's a little challenge. But remember that the offer for wanted missions still stands. All ya have to do is to cook up a little mission for them, send it to me on my e-mail, it's on my profile, and don't forget to name the mail "Jedi Mission" or else it might be ignored. If ya write the suggestion as a review, then others can read it and maybe spoil the surprise.  
  
But now, to a little tradition of mine.  
  
Fat boy: Sorry I didn't have Random to rescue Kayley, but I'll try to give him a shot to play hero for her. But how and when is unfortunately a secret. Sorry.  
  
John: Hope this was "Jaws" enough for ya.  
  
Shalashaska-001: Yeah, she's having fun. And thank ya for reviewing the last chap. Hope this one was better.  
  
Dynamis: Thank you for liking the last chapter. And please hurry up with thinking up a mission for them. The more the better.  
  
Shanesnest: I really appreciate your suggestion for a mission and promise I will do something about it. Since ya haven't given me much more details, I'll just cook up something meself. But then again, that's my job, ain't it? I will continue to read yer stories. Thanks again.  
  
Until next time, my friends. Peace out.


	4. Chapter 4

Jedi Academy

The Magnificent Seven

(My first Jedi Knight story. Just so you know, Star Wars belongs to George Lucas. Bless his genius mind. So if anything is in violation of the Star Wars spirit, let HIM speak up. Thanks)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A choir of thousands crickets whistled through the cooling night outside the mighty temple that housed the Jedi Academy on the fourth moon around Yavin. Yavin 4 as it was called could be described as an endless jungle that stretched all around the moon's surface. A fertile planet with billions of lifeforms, living and breeding like they had done since the dawn of time.

The black nightsky was lit up by an endless scenario of stars throughout the galaxy. Each of them containing several planets and moons. Sitting like a small corn of sand, one lonely soul sat on top of the ancient temple, switching from looking up at the sky to look down on the Jedi training ground far below him.

Random would often seek solitude, giving himself a few moments of complete peace and quiet that helped him in many ways to clear his mind. His mind and thoughts still lingered on the mission they had completed several hours ago on the uninhabited, yet dangerous planet of Blenjeel.

They had successfully brought back the ships log, but had found no trace of the two pilots. Yet they were surprised by a group of Sand Burrowers, they had made it back to the academy without casualties. Tween had been the only injured one, but thanks to Ryu's quick reflexes and courage, and with the medical skills of Selene, she was now sleeping peacefully in the chamber with the rest of them.

Master Skywalker had R2 read the ships log and sent the information about the crash to Coruscant where Mon Mothma had several experts look into the matter. Some feared that it was not a meteor that had rammed into the ship, but then again, that was only a rumor. Random made a mental note to take photographic evidence of future missions, in case they could become useful.

While sitting there, he heard a noise behind him. Even with the crickets still singing, and the calm wind whistling through the ancient forest, the sound of footsteps against stone entered his ears like a warning.

Turning around, holding his breath like a scared child who prayed the ghosts would be gone by the time he had fully turned, he spotted the petite form of Kayley coming towards him. Her face was smiling at him as she came over and sat down a few ft away from him, dangling her legs over the ledge like he did.

The soft breeze caught some of her elegant hair and made it gently swish in the wind while her eyes nearly reflected the starlight above them.

"Hey... what are you doing up here now at midnight?" she asked. Her voice was calm and quiet like she was afraid the sleeping students might hear her through the window.

"Nothing. I'm just watching the stars for a while. Trying to sort out my thoughts. What about you? What are you doing here t midnight?" he replied with a touch of humor in his voice. Their voices were mere whispering up here, melting into the wordless speech of the wind.

"I saw you leaving a while back and wondered where you planned to go. Just wanted to make sure you didn't got your ass into trouble," she teased and gave him a playful smile. He stifled a laugh and looked over at her.

"Babysitting. It's been a while since I needed that," Random said and returned his gaze towards the stars as he leaned back and rested his back against the wall.

"I also came here to tell you...... that I think you did a good job today as leader of the group. No wonder Master Jaden selected you," she said and continued to look at his peaceful expression. Who slowly turned into a blush.

"Oh come on. I just did what everyone else in the same position would have done. Don't give me credits for something I didn't do. Besides, I didn't do all the thinking."

"Yeah, but you took control of the situation. Calmed your mind and tried to find a way out for all of us. I know I've always had a problem with authority, but it's... I don't know... different with you. Like Master Jaden." Her words silenced and they both took a brief moment to enjoy the pace and quiet the jungle provided them.

Random was to say the least, stunned to the core. Her words lay comfort in his troubled mind, telling him that she trusted him as a leader. As a friend. And sometimes, the power of the Force could not compare with the power of friendship.

The two young students stayed there on the peaceful ledge overlooking the land for several minutes, not breaking the silence in fear of ruining the moment. But after a while of admiring the beautiful sky, Kayley stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes. Following her example, Random did the same thing and stretched. Sitting on the hard surface up here was a killer for his butt.

Seeing the uncomfortable expression on his face, Kayley giggled and looped her arm around his and together they walked down towards the chamber. Random felt his heart nearly skipped a beat as he felt the soft grip of her slender hands and the warmth flowing out of them like a waterfall.

Through the empty dark corridors barely lit up by a torch here and there they walked. Quiet as the night and soft as a pair of kittens. The chamber door opened and revealed the rest of their friends who were sleeping peacefully after a hard days training. The quiet stonewalls towered above them, looking down at them with ancient eyes and ears. Eternal witnesses of the past, present and soon the future. Shielding them from the outside, keeping them safe and warm.

Kayley skipped over to her bed and crawled under the comforting blanket, feeling the warmth returning to her. Rolling over on her side, she looked over to Random who stayed on the other side of the room, busy with removing the flowing tunic and the top half of his black outfit.

She had to smile seeing him like this. The silvery moonlight shining over his athletic body.

A sudden growing of heat in her face made her roll over on her other side. What was she thinking, looking at him like that? She knew it was wrong, but still, a part of her told her that it was perfectly safe. She trusted him and he trusted her back. They were friends, roommates and teammates. She looked at him with pride. Proud of having him as a leader.

Slowly rolling back, she faced his direction and watched him as he slowly fell asleep. Watched as his chest slowly rose up and down in a steady rhythm. She continued to look at him till her mind found the view so comforting it dragged her into a deep sleep, filled with beautiful dreams.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After a nice breakfast with the rest of the students at the academy, a change of clothes and a nice morning-training, the group of seven made their way into the mighty jungle outside the academy.

The hot air under the green roof was a wonderful mixture of smells coming from millions of flowers and other plants growing freely in the calm forest. With their master, Jaden Korr in the front, they followed a path made by nature itself and the creatures living in this paradise. All kinds of familiar and unfamiliar sounds echoed through the trees. And through small cracks in the roof of leaves, sunlight created nearly solid beams of light. Giving the forest a almost mystical aura in it.

The elder Zabrak walked without a word and without a single sound. Master Jaden had been training here for several years and had learned the art of moving in the ultimate stealth. Not even the leaves made sounds as she continued down the old path through the overgrown forest. The others looked at each other but nobody spoke up. Not even Phoenix had come up with a joke.

After a half hour they came upon a canyon with a beautiful waterfall raining down over the dark rocks. The shower could be described as powerful rain. A bit heavy but still light enough to walk around under it. The moist air in the canyon hurled around them with tiny drops of water, providing the plants around them with a limitless supply of energy. From small colorful flowers to the gigantic moss-covered trees that hung drowsy over the river.

Jaden turned towards them and dropped the bundle of sticks from her back, using the Force to throw one stick to each of them while keeping one for herself. The sticks were much lighter than they appeared to be, giving them the freedom to use them much faster.

"Alright. Today you will learn more about the basic of using a lightsaber. Since I'm not taking the risk by letting you hack away at each others with real lightsabers, I'm taking the liberty of giving you these," she said and twirled her stick with her hand. The seven of them nodded and tried out the weight of the stick in their hands.

Holding the sticks like they would have held a real lightsaber, the students lined up and prepared for the training.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

During the next 5 long hours, Jaden taught them the basic attack techniques, where they also learned to combine the use of the weapon with their body, little tricks that could provide with a upper hand in close combat.

Tricks like a kick whenever an opening occurred in the opponents attack and blocks. Small stun-areas in the anatomy where a light press of the hand or finger could momentarily stun an opponent, giving them vital seconds to win a fight.

But Jaden always reminded them that the ways of the Jedi is not in the art of killing. Victory is achieved when the opponent no longer poses as a threat. Disarming the opponent could provide with the same use as killing, but is also uphold the moral rules that all life is precious.

After a while of explanation and practicing, Jaden selected Random and ordered him to attack and disarm her. Feeling a bit down for the task, he hesitated at first, but after the confirmation that it was quite safe, he lifted his stick in defensive position and charged forward. The rest of the group sat down in the moist grass and paid attention.

Jaden smiled as she saw the confident moves and attacks Random unleashed. Quick and effective attacks, whilst keeping his guard up at all times. But his skills with the use of the sword were nothing compared to his master. But Jaden's purpose of this fight was not to win, but to teach him a lesson.

As the two sticks connected, Random saw his opportunity and circled his stick and guided Jaden's stick around until the wrist no longer could follow, sending Jaden's stick out of her hands and landing softly on the grass. Smiling in triumph, Random felt the sweet taste of victory way into his core. But the taste soon turned to a sour feeling.

In a split second, Jaden had extended her hand towards the stick she had lost and quick as lightening, the stick was back in her hand. Random had no time to react at all as she hit her stick into the side of his upper arm, hitting one of the stun-areas that made his fingers stretch out and drop the stick he had in his grip.

"Always remember that a Jedi can turn from unarmed to armed just as quick as that. That's the second part of today's training. If everyone throws their stick away from themselves, we're gonna practice to get it back by using the Force," Jaden said and took a step back.

She explained that by picturing the stick in their heads and focusing on the Force surrounding it, they could move the stick back into their hands. It was far from easy, but one by one, they managed to complete their tasks. But the real challenge for their minds didn't appear before after another hour.

"Okay. Now it's time to put your skills to a test. Both skills with the stick and balance will be important here, cause you are going to fight each other one on one under that waterfall," Jaden said with a sly smile on her face. The students stared in disbelief at her.

"Under there? Ya must be crazy. We'll get ourselves wet as fishes, aye..." Phoenix whined. Auron cut in on the conversation.

"Yeah. Plus it must be freezing under there. Slippery too."

"That's the point. That's why you are going to fight in the swimsuits I told you to dress up with at breakfast. With the cold water against your skin, the hit with the opponents stick will nearly numb the arm, leg or whatever they hit. The water also functions to keep your heads cooled since it will be, as Auron said, slippery," Jaden told them and turned around to walk back to the academy.

"Supper will be waiting when you come back. Along with the mission for tomorrow," she finished and was gone under the branches. The whole team looked at each others, but no common answer came.

"She can't be serious," Selene said and folded her arms.

"Well, she IS the Master... but does she really expect us to do this?" Auron replied.

"I ain't taking my tunic off in front of ya all," Phoenix said.

"I'm not shy about it. I took my bathing suit on as she asked for," Kayley said and looked at the others.

"So did I. We shouldn't act like this. Everyone has seen someone in a swimming suit before," Random finished and put his hands at his hip, waiting for the others to agree on this childish situation.

"Aye, but what if SOMEONE forgot tha bathing suit... then what?" Phoenix continued.

"Phoenix... please don't tell me that you are going commando under that black outfit," Auron said and covered his eyes with his hand. The rest of the team looked from Auron to Phoenix.

And the young Zabrak looked at the ground in front of him and formed small circles with his boot.

"Uhm... no. Of course not. Yer crazy, mate," Phoenix muttered and gave up.

Tween shook her head at her brother and followed the others. Putting their outfits in a pile next to the river, they didn't feel the least embarrassed about this. Except for one.

"Hey... are those little hearts?" Kayley asked as she looked at Phoenix's boxer shorts. The young Zabrak's eyes glared daggers back at her as everyone now turned their attention towards him. Feeling his face started to glow.

"Aye...aye. Shorts with hearts on, that's me. Now drop it guys," Phoenix warned and glared over to Auron and Random. Ryu moved his hands in some strange signals and Random quickly covered his mouth to stop the laughter.

"What did he say?" Tween asked.

"He says... heheheheheh says.......your brother is...heh heh quite the heartbreaker," Random explained and laughed uncontrollable with Auron and Ryu close behind. Laughing so hard that tears rolling freely from their eyes.

"...'AT'S IT!!!!!!!" Phoenix yelled and ran towards them. Ramming into them and knocking all the boys off their feet and head-first into the river. The girls gathered, giggling on the riverbank and looked at the four boys struggling against each other in the obviously cold water. Splashing and gasping for air, the boys reappeared at the surface.

"JIKES!!!! It's freezing..." Auron yelped and quickly made his way to the shore again. Random and Ryu also returned to shore, with Phoenix walking in the back, a proud grin imprinted on his whole face.

"Perhaps ya should take this last training a bit more serious. Eh, lads?" Tween said and managed to wipe the grin off her brother's face. The rest of the boys looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Standing on the slippery rocks with the light waterfall raining over his body, Random tried to gain his foothold after a rough strike from Kayley's stick. The water made it difficult to see and nearly impossible to stand in the same stance for long.

Using the Force to see her was not as easy as it sounded. She appeared like a figure made up by a dim light, and he had difficulties of making out what her moves were. The light never created depth into her figure, just the shape. But seeing a stick whack him in the arm was easy. He could hear her teasing, sinister laugh as she hit him again while he was still trying to gain his foothold.

He got tired of this playing-defense game and decided to attack. Aiming for the center of the lightfigure, he let his stick swing in a perfect curve at her and connected with her weapon. Continuing to attack and block, the two of them moved around the slippery surface, dodging and slipping, hacking and whacking.

Then, as he blocked one of her stronger attacks, he felt his back feet really started to slip. Holding the sticks connected, edging closer and closer to his face, Random knew that he could only hold this position for bout three more seconds.

Feeling his foot lost contact with the rock and landed on one knee, Kayley who also was a bit out of balance, fell into him and knocked him completely over and onto the cold rock. Sliding down towards the mainriver, she clung to him in order not to touch the rock.

SPLASH!!!!!

Random dropped his stick and made his way back up to the surface, trying desperately not to open his mouth as the icecold water once again swallowed him. They both arrived at the surface and gasped for air, trying desperately to get to the shore. Crawling up on the riverbank, Random gave Kayley an evil glare, trying to look as grumpy as possible. Kayley on her side simply smiled all innocent.

Random couldn't help but to replace his grumpy expression with a laugh upon seeing her like that. Reaching out his hand, he pulled her up on the bank and sat down to watch the others who were still sparring. Selene and Tween were sparring just to their left, while Auron and Phoenix had teamed up on Ryu under the main waterfall.

Once again, Ryu's mask made him a dangerous foe in this battle. While Auron and Phoenix had to nearly close their eyes in the waterfall, Ryu's eyes were open and watching their every move. And even with two against one, he didn't seem to suffer much problems.

At the end, the others meant it was starting to get late as well as pretty cold. They all gathered what clothes they had and made their way back to the academy. Master Jaden had informed them before she left that she had a possible mission for them. And to make things better, she was waiting for them with supper ready and all.

Feeling the hunger call inside their stomachs, they broke into a run. Not stopping before they reached the gates of the mighty temple.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Around the table in their chamber, everyone was seated and eating. Each of them wrapping a nice warm blanket around themselves trying to keep the cold away. Jaden walked around the table, looking at every single one of them. Her eyes could pierce a AT-ST straight through the armor.

"Nice training today. I trust you all learned something new. Now to the more serious matter of tonight," she said and called forth a chair from the other table and placed it right behind her, sitting down and folded her hands in a way they knew meant trouble.

"I have a new rescue mission for you. Just before breakfast, we received word from the New Republic that a group of Rebel pilots are being held temporarily captive on the ancient Imperial prison located on Dathomir," Jaden said and gave them a few seconds to devour the information.

"Temporarily?" Random asked and leaned closer.

"They have sent a message to one of the Remnants Star Destroyers patrolling space. It will reach the planet in 3 days minimum, and once equipped with the technical torture devices on that ship, the pilots will be forced to talk," Jaden continued and placed a map on the table.

"Your mission will be a bit more complicated than last time. A dropship will pass the outlying forest surrounding the prison where you will jump off and find a way to reach the prison. One day walk at least, so you will be carrying some more equipment this time.

Make your way to the prison undetected and enter it from the lakeside. The prison itself is very old and the waterpipes aren't under surveillance anymore. That is your entry.

Once inside, you might run into Remnant troops, but try to stay out of sight as long as possible. The pilots are located in the upper cells which is the only ones left operational. Release the pilots and make your way to the southern hangar. If our intelligence are correct, there will be a load of Imperial Shuttles there to take you back to Yavin 4."

They all listened and nodded, saying they understood. Kayley told that she could fly one of those shuttles no problem. Jaden's face turned into a smile as she stood up, realizing they could handle themselves. Telling them that the dropship would leave the academy in approximately three hours from now. That they should eat, clean up and ret some rest before that.

"May the Force be with you," she finished and left the chamber, leaving them to themselves. The seven students looked at each other and the room fell into a complete silence. They shared a inquisitive look at each other before they wandered off to the showerchamber just down the hall.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After six long hours, they finally broke out of hyperspace and spotted the dark-green planet of Dathomir. Their pilot, a elderly man with a jolly beard and an equal jolly mood by the name of Connor, piloted the shuttle with an experts precise maneuvers. Kayley sat in her seat with a little pout imprinted on her cute face. She had literally begged Connor to fly this shuttle, but he told her that nobody except himself touched this baby.

Selene sat down next to her and patted her gently on the shoulder.

"Relax. The next flight we're having, you're the pilot. Then you can fly all kinds of crazy stunts we know you like," Selene said and managed to lure out a smile on Kayley's lips.

"Oy there... That ain't voted for, aye... She's gonna fly us home nice and quietly, ain't ya, lass?" Phoenix cut in. His answer came in the form of a slap behind the head made by Auron.

Suddenly, Connor called out to them from the pilotseat.

"Hang on, kids. We're entering the atmosphere. I'll fly this baby down south of the prison, slow enough for you to jump. The parachutes are in the blue closet in the back."

"Okay, people. Let's get going," Random said as he stood up and walked to the closet, pulling out seven parachutes. His voice sounded all tough and leader-ish, but beneath his expression, he was scared. He knew there was something bad about Dathomir... something of great evil, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

The shuttle started to tremble under the sudden changes from space to atmosphere. Strapping their equipment, weapons and parachutes on, they walked to the door of the shuttle and waited. Sweat rolling down their foreheads and their last meal gnawing in their bellies. Random took the charge and opened the hatch as the light turned green.

"Everyone good to go?" Random called out behind him

"Good to go," he could hear Auron shout right behind him.

"Good to go," Kayley responded.

"Goody," Phoenix sang.

"Ditto," Tween replied.

Ryu simply stuck out his hand, giving Random a high-thumb.

"Good to go," Selene called in last, and with the last confirmation, Random jumped out the hatch and into the dark night surrounding this half of Dathomir. Under him was a dark and moist jungle that reached as far as the eye could see. The wind kicked his short hair and gave him a feeling of total peace for a split second. The shuttle was now on full throttle back towards the academy and disappeared into the dark sky.

The team fell down towards the dark ground like rocks. Faster and faster, until the parachute registered they were 500 ft from the ground and opened itself. Feeling a powerful yank in their bodies, they nearly came to a halt in the air. Dropping slowly towards the awaiting jungle.

The heat hit them like a wall as they penetrated the fertile treetops and under the dark green layer of the jungle. Creating seven beams of light coming from the moonlight above them, shining down on the ground like spotlights.

It all seemed so strange, yet so familiar. The jungle is the same no matter where you end up.

Once they touched the ground, they disconnected the parachutes and dragged them into the cover of the shadows. Waiting a few minutes to calm things down. Things like their own heartbeat. They all checked their bags to make sure nothing was lost. Then checking the weapons.

Auron was the only one that had brought something more than the regular DL-44 pistol and the E-11 Blaster Rifle. Slunged over his shoulder hung a Tenloss DXR-6 sniper blaster. Their trusty lightsabers hung freely and easily available in their belts.

Selene was in charge of the medical equipment while Phoenix carried the food. Ryu was acting scout. With his nightvision build into his mask, searching in the dark ahead of them was kids-game for him.

Random checked the map and found out they were about 35 miles away from the prison, so the chances of being seen as they dropped down was at a minimum. They had exactly 55 hours to get to the prison and rescue the pilots and find a shuttle to escape with.

"Then let's not waste any time here. Let's move out," Auron said and looked at Random. Random on his side simply nodded. The sooner they got there, the better. Calculating where north was, they started their long journey.

But it was a short start, as Ryu had stopped a bit ahead of them and held up his hand, signalizing them to stop. He stood stiff as a statue and seemed to stare into the black oblivion of the jungle. The rest of the team moved to each side and found cover in the shadows. Nobody said a word, moved a muscle or let a breath escape their lungs.

Ruy made a few moves with his hand, and Random understood the Kel Dor wanted to talk to him alone. Telling the rest to hold their positions, he slowly crept out of the shadows and edging towards the silent Kel Dor. His eyes constantly scanning the surroundings. Every sound, every change in the wind, his senses were on defcon 1.

Stepping up next to Ryu, he tried to read the expression on his face, but the mask still hid his emotions like a cloak. He was looking down at the ground now, and Random felt the blood in his spine turned into ice water, MUCH colder then the water from the river earlier today.

They both stared at a set of footprints that disappearing into the deep darkness of the forest.

Now Random remembered why he had felt this feeling of dread when he heard they were going to Dathomir. Remembering his teacher explaining different planets back when he was just a kid. Warning them never to go there if they valued their own lives.

One word escaped Random's lips. A word he had always feared to speak of. The name of a creature who had existed on Dathomir since the dawn of time. The name of the ultimate evil in the creation of natural creatures. If this thing could be called natural.

".........Rancor........"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That's the end of chapter 4.

I'm VERY sorry for the long wait. But I'm a busy lad. I hope this chapter doesn't suck too much that ya won't leave a nice/bed little review before ya shut this window.

To those who knows stuff about the Star Wars universe, then it's true. Dathomir is the homeplanet for the Rancors. So expect some scary scenes in the next chapter. I just love cliffhangers, don't you?... no?....bah! Get used to cliffhangers.

And now to my always trustful reviewers.

Shalashaska-001: It's always a pleasure to hear for you, old friend. And I'll keep on my toes for any spelling errors. If ya find anyone here, let me know and I'll change it. I hope ya liked this chapter. If ya did, then yer gonna LOVE the next.

Snackfiend101: Thank you for pointing out that it had spelling errors. I looked into it myself and spotted several errors and hopefully, I corrected them all. And have faith, cause Rosh will return. IF I'm gonna honor him or bash him is unknown. Maybe...

Khaak: As I said before, ALL missions are accepted. And yer suggestion to a mission sounds highly promising. But all to its proper time.

Shanesnest: I'm honored to hear from ya again. Thank you so much for a nice long review and sharing of yer feelings. I like that. But for the records, I like scnes that are a bit scary, so expect them often. Especially in the next. And I see ya have noticed Ryu's fearlessness, and the first sign of a romance between Random and Kayley. If ya have read or viewed the old series called G.I.Joe, then Ryu is a reflection of the silent ninja called Snake-Eyes. He was my all-time fave when I was a kid. Hope ya liked this chapter, and I hope I can update faster next time.

Wrrohm: I like your suggestion for a mission, but it's kinda what ya can expect anyway. Of course they are gonna investigate a sith cult. But since this was your suggestion, I'm giving you the honor of giving this cult a name. If ya feel up for the task. Ya know how to reach me.

Tinuviel Undomiel: This has nothing to do with the tv-show Young Jedi Knights. I've never seen it myself. And like I said to ya before, both Rosh and Jan will appear in this story. And the offer of the name of Kyle's daughter or son is still up to you to decide.

Chigy: Yesyesyes, I'm writing as fast as I can. Not my fault that I'm drowning in school. And thank you for reviewing.

Now for you who are gonna review, if ya have a mission to give them in your head, feel free to share the information and I will fulfill your wishes. If not, write whatever ya want. I love reviews.

Peace out, my friends.


	5. Chapter 5

Jedi Academy

The Magnificent Seven

Chapter 5

(My first Jedi Knight story. Just so you know, Star Wars belongs to George Lucas. Bless his genius mind. So if anything is in violation of the Star Wars spirit, let HIM speak up. Thanks)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jungles aren't always emerald trees and plants growing everywhere, creating a moment of spectacular beauty that will linger in your mind for the rest of your life. The jungle at Dathomir certainly didn't fall into that description.

A swampland, filled with dark trees that sometimes seemed to melt together with the shadows, creating several imagined hiding places for creatures beyond the greatest nightmare. Branches hanging down from their host like sad, clawlike hands, reaching out for anything that would be within their reach.

This planet was a true nightmare.

And in a clearing in the dreadful forest, a group of seven brave young people gathered around each others.

Random looked up at their faces as everyone's gaze was aimed at a crater in the mud. Ryu had found it and everyone knew instantly that this wasn't any ordinary crater, but the footprint of a creature which was feared throughout the whole galaxy. A grim reminder of that Dathomir, the planet they now stood in the middle of, was the original homeplanet of a terrible form of life called Rancors.

The footprints were leading to the north. The same direction they were suppose to go. The massive monster had created a nice pathway of broken trees that disappeared into the mist. Random saw clearly the worry in most of their faces. They were still just rookie-students, and couldn't possess enough knowledge to take on a Rancor if the beast decided to attack them.

"Okay, this is a big fucker, aye," Phoenix said as he looked up from the footprint and on the rest of the group. Amazing how one series of footprints could remove any feeling or control of one's legs.

"Tween, what do you see?" Random asked as the young Zabrak bent closer to the print and floated her hand over it.

"About 15 ft tall. 10... maybe 12 000 pounds. Just a few hours ago. Aye, three hours ago. And in the same direction we're heading. Ain't that wonderful, eh?" she replied and stood up again. The silence once again ruled in the jungle as nobody said a word for several minutes.

"Maybe we should, like, get going now. The sooner we get off this rock, the better," Kayley said and looked around into the misty forest. The feeling of being watched was creeping her out.

Random nodded and gave the order to keep going towards their original target. With Ryu still in the front as scout, they left the clearing in a hurry with no evidence of their presence. Auron kept his watchful eyes on the footprints planted deep into the soft, moist soil under them. He had seen a Rancor once in his life, observing the destruction it could do, this thing scared him more than anything else in the galaxy.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After 4 hours of quick pace, the group halted to take a little rest in another clearing. The tracks of the Rancor had lead away from their path and taken a more western route, much to their well earned relief.

But the trip had taken much longer than first expected. After around an hour into the walk, the map-reader was broken and useless, and to find out which way was north in the jungle was proving more difficult. This had cost them precious hours.

Had this landscape been flat and easy to travel in, they could have reached the prison facility within 10 hours max, given a few breaks. But climb up cliffs, crossing swamps and figuring out which way to take in the middle of the night wasn't an easy task.

At least, they had found a quiet and dry spot on the roots of a gigantic tree overlooking a misty little lake. Sharing the ration they had and handle out waterbottles, discussing where to go next.

"It'll soon be too dark to continue anyway. We'll keep this up for another hour and then try to get some sleep for the rest of the night. We still have 50 hours to get to that facility before the Imperials will take those pilots to the Star Destroyer," Random said and looked through the group sitting around him.

"Aye. But once we're at the facility, we still need to find a way into that fortress. Ain't gonna be easy," Tween said and nudged her brother who was about to fall asleep.

"Go and wash yer face, bro. You look like Bantha poodoo" Tween continued and managed the rest of the group to snigger at him. The young Zabrak yawned and stood up, walking towards a little pool to clean up and wash the sleepiness out of his face.

"But how do we sleep? I ain't sleeping on this wet ground if that's on your mind, mister," Selene said and crossed her arms. Kayley and Tween shared the same opinion.

Ryu made a few signals with his hand and then patted the massive tree they were sitting on.

"He's right, these huge trees are perfect for taking a nap in. High enough to escape the reach of any Rancor I've seen," Auron said and hit knuckles with Ruy.

"...the trees...?... Aren't there.....bugs and stuff up there?" Kayley whined and looked up towards the top of the tree. It felt like millions of tiny eyes stared back at her, laughing a sinister session at them. Waiting for them to come up to them and be crawled upon.

"Sure. That's why they call it the jungle. One branch of this tree contains perhaps hundreds of different creatures. Some so small you can't even see them," Auron said and did his best to hide a laugh that was about to burst out of his mouth.

A little away from the rest of the team, Phoenix heard the girls cry out in squeaky voices, hearing his sister saying something like 'boys are so disgusting', or something very similar to it. He guessed the rest of the guys in the group was making jokes now that he was over here instead, washing his face in a little pool.

Looking down at the dirty water, he began to wonder if Tween was right. A boy didn't think twice about washing his face in this kind of water. He smiled to himself thinking about all the perky girls back home.

Suddenly he felt something. Barely noticed it, but it was there. Like a tiny vibration in the core of his spine. Leaning back on his knees, he looked around in the misty forest, scouting the dark world surrounding him.

And there it was again. Only this time his eyes noticed movement, but not from the fog.

Looking down, he saw a ring forming on the surface of the water. Moving from the edges and towards the middle, growing smaller and smaller. The same vibration could be felt through his whole body the same second the ring was created.

Was water suppose to do that?

Slowly standing up, he felt the vibration again. They grew stronger by the second as well as the rings in the water.

Looking up towards the wall of mist, he could hear trees breaking in the far distance, standing frozen on the spot for a few seconds before his mind snapped back to reality.

"Oh, hell no," he peeped and turned on his heel, running like crazy back to the others.

"Big fucker. VERY big fucker on the way. Take cover if ya value yer life," he said as he passed them, taking cover inside a hollow treetrunk. The rest of them watched as he disappeared into the shadows before they all turned towards the other end of the clearing.

Tween closed her eyes, holding her hand towards the sound that was rolling through the forest like a wave of thunder. And then she saw it.

A massive creature made out of a warning red light. She had never felt so much dark energy in one thing before. And the towering creature was less than 200 ft away from them, closing in on them fast.

The young Zabrak opened her eyes and her face twisted in a frightful expression. She stepped back and seemed like she had seen a ghost.

"It's here. Everyone hide," she said and ran into the same trunk as her brother.

The team broke up and quickly fond any kind of shelter and remained quiet. Hearing the thundering vibrations of footsteps echoing through the trees and deep rumbling breath. Random, Ryu and Kayley hid behind one of the moss-growth trees, trying desperately to control their breath and their hearts as it felt like it was about to burst out of each of their chests. Random moved his head carefully to the side until he spotted the towering figure that was forming in the foggy wall on the other side of the clearing.

There it was.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Random was about to lose control of his silence as he saw this gigantic monster enter the clearing and stopped right where they had been standing a few seconds ago. The stinky brown skin was filled with old scratches, pointing out that this Rancor had seen lots of combat. The teeth was nearly glowing in the dark as it opened it's mouth and unleashed a roar that shook the trees around them. Cutting deep into their ears, bringing forth their worst nightmares as they all knew they were standing only a few ft away from death itself.

Selene clung to Auron's arm as the two of them had found their shelter behind a pile of boulders. Hearing the footsteps of the Rancor coming closer and closer, sniffing the air as if it had already caught their sent. Feeling her heart beat faster and faster until she prayed the Rancor wouldn't hear the drumming.

Auron held his breath as he heard the Rancor now stopped on the other side of the boulder they rested their back on. Slowly removing the sniper-blaster from his back the hand slowly made it's way down to the belt where he put the safety off on his E-11 rifle as well as reaching out for Selene's E-11.

This weapon might be a mass-production and the choice of the standard Stormtrooper equipment, but easy to come by, plenty of ammo and a fair accuracy. A perfect close-combat gun for Auron.

Back on Coruscant, he was an excellent marksman. Now his skills would be put to a serious test. Victory was great, and defeat was not an option.

Selene saw his mind. She didn't want him to leave her, but if she tried to protest, the Rancor would eat them both. She let go of his arm and gave him the nod. Then she watched with horror as he jumped away from the boulder, spinning in the air and sent at least 4 shots from the rifle.

With the two blasters held tightly in his hands, Auron squeezed the triggers and aimed at the monsters head. A terrible road of anger rumbled through the jungle as the Rancor felt the irritating blasts hitting its skin. Turning towards the little human, it dived forward with its massive jaws open.

Auron's eyes went wide open and he quickly jumped to the side, avoiding the jaw with a few inches. Feeling something inside his head, he jumped again just in time to avoid the monsters claws.

Once again, his blasters were raised and sending a new rapid rain of red energy towards the big face. If he could only hit the eye, but the blasted thing wouldn't stop moving its head.

Now the Rancor had enough with this annoying little thing and dived forward again, but this time with the deadly hands held infront. Auron tried once again to jump away, but was caught off-guard for a split second and was brutally pinned to the ground. Losing one of the blasters in the attack.

Snarling in agony, he raised the black barrel of the rifle again in an attempt to empty the whole thing into its face. Watching as the open jaws revealed rows of razorsharp teeth, coming down towards his head. Just then, Auron saw something in the corner of his eye.

Phoenix came in from behind the Rancor and slid in under its legs. Making a face, he shoved his own E-11 rifle into the Rancor's ass and squeezed the trigger. The Rancor let out a scream that sounded like a thousand thunderstorms. Roaring of all its might towards the sky.

Now Ryu jumped forth from his hiding place and activated his lightsaber. Jumping past the raised head and slammed the glowing blade into its throat. But he never got to land as the Rancor lashed out its hand and slammed a repayment into the brave Kel Dor. Sending him flying through the clearing and into a mudhole with a splash.

Returning the attention back to the human on the ground, the Rancor saw two other pathetic creatures helping him behind a great tree. Selene and Tween held a firm grip in Auron's arms and ran as fast as they could away from the battlefield. Seeing Random and Kayley team up and attack from behind.

Hate burned in the dark eyes as the massive monster turned around to face this new threat. With a fried wound in the throat and a terrible pain in the butt, it felt the anger grow to a point beyond sense. Launching itself towards them, it let the long arms sweep the ground to knock them away.

But the two humans wouldn't stay on the ground and leaped over the battering ram. Snarling in anger, the Rancor doubled back and lashed its arms once again, knocking over a tree in the process. Kayley ducked just in time and held her lightsaber up and made a small cut in the overgrown arm. Random dived forward and tried to slice up the monster's stomach, but the skin was to thick to make any kind of permanent effect.

After the Rancor stumbled a bit backwards, Kayley saw her chance and jumped upwards and slammed the burning blade and sliced in a deep cut in the nose, but once the pain reached the Rancor's brain, the arm acted on instinct and lashed out for her, knocking her far, far away. Taking Random in the punch and sent him off the battlefield like a projectile.

Kayley also was thrown away, only she landed in the open clearing.

Kayley felt a massive pain shooting through her body as she slammed into the tree. It was like all her strength left her in an instant when she tumbled down the ancient trunk and landing limp on the moist ground. Seeing the Rancor shaking the worst pain off itself, she felt an enormous feeling of dread as the monster turned its massive head towards her, growling in hunger as fresh blood tickled its nose.

Dragging herself over the ground, she tried to activate her lightsaber, only to discover it was no longer in her grasp. Desperately looking around, she saw it 20 ft away from her, lying on the grass, waiting to be picked up.

But her legs wouldn't obey her orders and the Rancor was closing up. It had already reduced the distance between them with half. Putting all efforts in her arms, she crawled towards the hilt, panting in fear as she felt the ground under her tremble every time the monster placed its foot on the ground.

Her every muscle froze as she noticed the gigantic shadow towered over her, and felt the foul breath in her neck. Rolling over, she watched with horror the jaws opening and roar a hot wind down on her, edging closer to finish her off.

Suddenly, the monster lifted its head and unleashed another roar, and started waving its massive arms around. Opening her terrified eyes, Kayley saw that stuck on the Rancor's head, was Random. Hanging on for dear life while the Rancor tried to smack him off.

Stumbling around, crashing into a few trees and knocking some of the smaller down, the Rancor desperately tried to remove the annoying little parasite, but it seemed like the human predicted the fanatic attempts to remove him and stayed constantly out of reach.

Random had never in his whole life felt so scared. Hearing the crashing sound of the jaws slamming together a few inches away from him and the huge claws trying to tear him off.

Down on the ground, he saw Kayley constantly rolling around, trying to avoid being stomped on by the rampaging feet.

Feeling his arms started to grow tired, Random knew he had to finish this quickly in order to stay alive. Grabbing the hilt of his lightsaber, he released it from the belt and stuck the piece of metal into the Rancor's left eye and pressed the activation button.

The Rancor saw with horror the blinding blue light coming towards its eye, then before its vision went black, it felt a pain greater than anything it had faced before. On instinct, it threw it's head away from the pain and saw the human finally letting go and flew across the clearing once again. The pain was so enormous. Like the eye was burning.

Covering its face with its mighty hand, the big Rancor ran away. Away from this pain and dangerous creatures. Disappearing into the mist the same way it had come.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Random managed to stumble back on his feet. Putting the lightsaber back in his belt, he did a little mental scan of his body and came up with the knowledge that no bones were broken and no limbs were missing. This had to be his lucky day.

Calming himself down a bit, he walked over to Kayley who tried to stand up as well. Her outfit was muddy and messed up and her face had several scratches from the fight. Looking towards the others, he saw Ryu stumbling his way toward Auron, Phoenix and Tween. The silent Kel Dor looked like he had been in a wrestling match with a Gamorrean in a mudhole.

Smiling, Random took a hold of Kayley's hand and helped her up on her feet. Feeling her weight supporting itself against him, he realized just how light she was. Her messy head looked up on him and their eyes met.

Random was about to say something when he felt her palm slap him hard on the side of his face.

".....what the heck was that for...? I just saved your life" he said with a confused voice and used his free hand to rub the place she had hit. He looked down at her again and saw her grumpy expression glare daggers at him.

"You were late," she replied simply and crystal clear. Random stood frozen on his spot as he watched her making her way towards the others, limping a bit on her left foot. He sighed and followed her.

Nobody was seriously hurt from the Rancor, but they were all tired and pretty beaten up. There was very little more they could do this night. Random suggested that they would make camp for the night. All they had to do was to move for another half hour away from this place.

The Rancor was defeated, but chances that it would return for revenge was just too great to linger in this place. The rest of the group shared a nod and followed their leader with no arguments.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ryu came up on Random's side and looked at his oldest friend. Random looked back at him and saw several small scratches on his head. Tiny streaks of blood rolled down the metallic mask of his but was dyed before they could fall to the ground and form a trail behind them.

The quiet Kel Dor made a few handsignals and made Random blush a little. He didn't want to speak out loud so he made handsignals back.

(I did what I had to do, Ryu. You did the same once, remember,) Random signalised.

(I know. But that was a Sand Burrower , not a Rancor,) Ryu answered with his quick signals.

(We are a big family now. And that's what a family does. Love and look out for each other,) Random said back to him, but suddenly realized what he had said. And even with the mask covering his face, he could see that Ryu felt a familiar pain by those 'word'. Ryu was an orphan, only a child when he watched his parents and brother die by the hands of the Empire.

After they had met several years ago, Ryu and Random had created such strong bonds they looked upon themselves as brothers. The brother Random never had and the brother Ryu once had lost. Now his family had been increased. Looking back at the 5 people behind them, Ryu smiled under his mask. All the pain he had felt was gone. Replaced with a warm feeling deep inside his core. He would never be alone again.

After a few minutes they came upon a gigantic tree that reached high up towards the star-filled sky. Ancient, gnarled and with hundreds of branches big enough to sleep on filled the massive tree trunk. Tiny creatures living in the tree became aware of the unwelcome guests and quickly found cover in the shadows that covered most of the mighty plant.

Helping each other, they climbed as high as they could until they were out of reach of any Rancor that might come by and surprise them. Looking down, it was around 100 ft to the ground under them, indicating that if they didn't fall down they were safe for the rest of the night.

Phoenix opened his backpack and took out a long rope that was supposed to be used once they arrived at the complex. Cutting it into 7 equal lengths he said that they could tie themselves to the tree in case they would fall of the branches during the night. Sleepwalking was not an option now.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After a half hour, most of them were tightly asleep in the crown of the tree. The dark night around them had transformed from a nightmare to a sweet lullaby that brought them on a welcoming journey to relaxation.

Random however was still a light-sleeper. Not feeling the least tired with the exception of a sore butt and a little red mark on his cheek from Kayley's hand. Putting his hand on the spot, he found himself smiling.

It was crazy when he thought about it. He had only known her for a week or something, and he was really starting to fall for her. Not because she was a fairly attractive girl, but also because of her spirit. There was something in her while she was in the field, something he never seen in any other girl he knew. The passion, the courage and the will to keep going truly amazed him.

He sighed and looked down on the ground. Everything was so quiet now. Like the whole forest had become a dead wasteland once again. The only sound he could hear was Phoenix gentle snoring.

Suddenly he felt a hand land on his shoulder and his heart skipped a beat. About to draw his weapon but relaxed as soon as he saw Kayley standing over him, looking a bit tired. Her features wasn't so messy anymore, but still had a few marks of fighting and rolling around on the ground.

"We really should stop seeing each other like this. You're gonna give me a heart attack one day," Random said in a bit hard tone of voice. But he had no choice but to soften up as she sat down next to him, tying her rope to a branch nearby.

"...You okay?" he asked. This time he found it best to whisper his words to her. It took a little while before she replied.

"... I was so scared, Random. So scared. That... thing... was going to eat me alive. I can still smell its foul breath..." she said and looked at her trembling hands.

"I... I don't know if I'm fit to become a Jedi. I mean... fear is the path to the dark side. I don't want to go to the dark side, Random. I'm still afraid. It's like every time I look to the ground under us, I expect it to stand there... looking at me with those evil eyes... waiting for me to come down..." she said and covered her face in her hands. Feeling her own pulse slamming against her face.

"Eye," Random suddenly replied. Kayley looked up from her hands and right at him.

"... What?"

"Eye. Not eyes. That thing paid for trying to eat you by losing one eye. So it would in that case look at you with an evil eye," he said and tried to smile at her.

Kayley smiled weakly back and managed to let out a soft giggle. Lightly punching his closest shoulder.

"But come on, Kayley... In a situation like that, it would have been inhuman not to feel fear. Fear is just another emotion that nobody can live without. That doesn't mean that you will turn into some crazy-ass Sith just because you were scared."

"... You really think so? You don't think of me as a wimp for being scared?"

"When I jumped up on that monsters head to stop it from killing you and knew that it would do anything in its power to crush every bone in my body and THEN eat me, I was scared beyond belief. One little mistake or miscalculated movement would send me right to the 'other side'. But you got to keep a positive mind. Be thankful that you didn't die."

Kayley smiled at him again and dyed the tears off her face. His words truly comforted her and suddenly, the jungle wasn't that scary anymore. She looked down to the ground and saw no Rancor. No evil 'eye' that glared at her. She saw the soft grass, the wild flowers and a little creature skipping across the clearing under them.

Right here, in this position, she was safe.

"Thanks, Random. I needed to hear that," she whispered and leaned closer to him, resting her head against the soft fabric of his tunic. Then she felt his arm move around her shoulder and gently pulled her closer. She kept her eyes closed and smiled.

"Random?" she gently whispered, just to make sure he was there.

"Hmm?" he replied and looked down at her sleeping face.

"What if it comes back tonight?"

Random heard her and understood perfectly. Looking down he reminded himself that there was a fair chance of running into it again. That it would follow them for revenge. Right now it didn't matter since it couldn't reach them, but he felt he needed to give the sweet girl resting so peacefully against him some extra comfort.

"I'll stay awake, Kayley," he whispered to her. Seeing a new smile spread across her pretty little face, he knew she had heard that. Right there and then he wanted to lean down and kiss her a gentle 'goodnight' on her already blushing cheek. But his mind told him to take it easy and one step of the time. No sense in rushing into anything.

Right now, she would sleep peacefully. Without worry or trouble.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That's it for chapter 5. They are at least getting closer to the Imperials. But still have quite a few miles left to go through Rancor-land. Don't you just feel the dread slowly crawling up yer spine?

This story was to be longer, but I felt it was about time I updated. There is still plenty of missions for them left, and if ya have a cool idea or a request of a mission for them, doesn't matter how cruel it is, they will most likely get it. Poor bastards.

Now, a little reward for my faithful reviewers.

Wrrohm: I still planning your idea of a mission. It will happen sooner or later. Once they are a little more experienced in battle. Can't be too cruel at them this early.

Shanesnest: Well I spent a long time doing the scene on top of the temple, and I wanted to have a nearly equal scene in this chapter. The terror on Dathomir ain't over yet, so if I were you, I'd be on the lookout for more of those Rancors. As for Phoenix, I would have guessed that you have realized that he's the clown of the group.

Omeganian: Yes there will be all of the lightsabers soon. Right now, none of them....with perhaps the exception of Ryu and Auron, that can handle a weapon that complicated. Got to stick to realism here. As for your idea of a mission, I like it and have started to cook up the story behind it.

Dynamis: Your idea of mission interested me. I like the idea behind it and the fact that it will prove most difficult for them all. I'll give it a try soon enough.

Tinuviel Undomiel: I know ya want to read more, sweety, and you must have patient. Your idea of a mission will be seen in the near future as I think it's about time we see some family between Kyle and Jan.

Hart: Don't worry. I haven't forgotten Rosh. I don't like him at all, but I'll do my best not to bash his poor ass or anything. I'm sure he's changed over the years.

White Shadow: Cheesy title? If that's an attempt to insult me, I'm afraid you failed. I like the title and I'm gonna stick to it. Easy as that. Heh heh.

Shalashaska-001: My old comrade in arms. I trust ya had a pleasant view of the tension during that night. And believe me when I say "It ain't over yet".

The Dark Lord Revan: Greetings, milord. I appreciate your reminder. I know there are two different types. I have a little feeling I will write a bit of both. Just wait and see.

Seriyu-the-ice-dragon: Since yer review are so short, I'm giving a short one back. I like the fact that you like this and hope to see your name again in this chapter.

Yes, that's it for the reviewers and the story. I hope ya don't hate me for being a bit late on the update, but my sparetime is shorter now than ever before. I can barely get home and eat some supper before something else drags me into a direction. It's such stress I could go crazy.

Hope that doesn't happen during the next update.

Peace out, my friends.

Darky.


	6. Chapter 6

Jedi Academy

The Magnificent Seven

Chapter 6

(My first Jedi Knight story. Just so you know, Star Wars belongs to George Lucas. Bless his genius mind. So if anything is in violation of the Star Wars spirit, let HIM speak up. Thanks)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The deep silence of the dark jungle dominated much of the landscape of Dathomir, now that it was way into the night, closing up on sunset within a few hours. Tiny creatures could move around the top of the mighty trees with less fear of getting eaten by bigger carnivores. Few of them dared leave the safety of the trees to search the mist-covered ground for food.

In the thick branches of one of the greatest trees, a group of seven strangers to this planet slept quietly. Sitting with his back against the massive trunk, a tired young man from Coruscant overlooked the groundlevel below him and his friends. Random had kept his promise to the girl sleeping peacefully next to him, clutching his tunic. He had managed to stay awake during the entire night, refusing to close his eyes in fear that me might fall asleep.

He did a mental note of staying in bed for the next few days once they reached the Academy back on Yavin 4. If Master Jaden had the least sense of human emotion, she wouldn't deny them a little rest.

Looking over to the others, his other friends. It's strange that just these few days with each other had formed a relationship that could be resembled to family. Of course the Zabrak kids, Phoenix and Tween were already family, and Ryu was close enough to a brother to Random.

They would live in the Academy for the rest of their lives, grow up together, help each other and love each other.

Strange thing that growing bonds like that were considered to be a part of The Dark side of the Force a few years ago. That personal feelings could get in the way in a mission. Random didn't believe that. He meant that personal feelings was a motivation, a source of courage, and at least what made them human.

It was so quiet. Still hearing nothing but Phoenix's snoring and the wind. But there was another sound in the distance. Something thunderlike, drawing closer.

Random looked through the top of the branches and saw that the sky was growing darker. Clouds of black gathered above them, inviting everyone and everything to a cold shower.

Suddenly, he felt Kayley's hands clutch harder to his tunic, letting a scared moan escape her sleep, Random instantly sharpened his ears and eyes. And there it was.

Standing on the ground, the massive Rancor just stood there, glaring up on them without a sound. Random's mind frantically measured the distance from them to the ground against the length of the Rancor's arms. How had it managed to get this close without him noticing?

Swallowing a lump, he saw the hollow eyehole in its twisted skull glare right at him, letting out a deep rumble from its lungs. It obviously recognized the creature responsible for causing it pain and darkness to its eye, sitting just out of reach, looking back at it.

The Rancor circled the tree silently, trying to find a way to get closer to the branches, but no such luck. The food remained out of reach, much to its great discomfort.

Random finally got over the shock seeing this and poked Kayley lightly in her shoulder. The girl slowly opened her eyes with a huge yawn, stretching her sore arms, suddenly realizing who was sitting next to her. But before she could say so much as a 'good morning', her ears caught a angry growl from the ground.

Seeing the Rancor looking right at her, she was about to scream, but Random's hand quickly covered her mouth, turning her head away from it and towards him instead.

"sssshhhhhhh, quiet. Don't upset it," he whispered, not removing his hand. The panting sound of her breath coming through her nose, the frighten look in her eyes was enough to break Random's heart. After a few seconds, she calmed down and gave him the nod, telling he could remove the hand.

"We got to wake the others," Random whispered to her and Kayley nodded again. Moving quietly across the trunk and over to the rest of the sleeping group. The Racor followed their every move, as if it was waiting for one of them to fall.

"Yo, Phoenix… Wake up, man," Random whispered as he gently shook Phoenix's arm. The young Zabrak mumbled something and rolled over.

"mmmmm, just a couple of minutes, mama… promise," he mumbled in his sleep before he tiredly opened his eyes and looked down. His yellow eyes stared right into a face below that washed away all feelings of tiredness in a split second.

"Oh…..heh heh, No hard feelings, eh?" Phoenix said as he slowly crawled closer to the others, eying the Rancor all the time. The gigantic beast below answered him with another furious growl.

"Okay, now what do we do? We can't stay here forever," Selene said and looked over to Random. His face was deeply focused on the problem already.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking………… I'm done thinking. Okay, Mr. Grumpy downstairs waits for us to get down from here, so we have to stay out of his reach."

"You mean run like heck?" Auron asked and looked down to the Rancor. He had been in contact with it before, and didn't want to do it again.

"No. We'll use the trees. Jump from branch to branch. Ryu, are you ready for it?" Random said and turned towards his old comrade in arms. The silent Kel Dor nodded and ran out on one of the branches, focusing on the Force and leaped with all his strength away from the tree.

The Rancor saw that some of the food was making an escape. Flying in a perfect arch from this tree and right towards the next. Wondering if it should follow that or stick with the rest of the group.

Ryu's fingers clutched the branch in the next tree and hung there for a few seconds before he swung up and turned towards the others, signalising that there was nothing to it.

Tween was up next. Using her higher evolved sense of the Force seeing to perfectly calculate the distance. The branch slightly bent as she connected, causing her to look down and see the Rancor making it's way over to their tree.

Ryu grabbed her hand and helped her up and waited for the next jumper to come. This would take a long time if they were to jump from tree to tree, but with the jungle, there was pretty much noting else but trees.

This form of moving closer to their target was a serious waste of time. Hopefully they would make it to the complex before the prisoners were taken away from them.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Several hours later, when the heavens had released its load of water down on the lush land, providing the jungle and ancient forest with another rainstorm, the group stopped in a tree overlooking a huge complex waiting for them in the bottom of a valley.

They had lost the Rancor by a cliffside a few hours ago and hopefully it had lost their track in the rain, not really missing its company.

The valley was rather open. The bigger trees had been cut down quite a while ago, starting to grow back up again. Revealing a big old prison complex resting safely with a river surrounding the area. It looked like this prison hadn't had any maintenance for years. The forest around was partly growing up the old cracked walls, the painting on the walls had been removed by years and years of rain and wind.

Auron took up his Tenloss Sniper and scanned the walls and the area around the building through the bitter rain.

"Hmmmmm. Lightly defended. I don't think they expect any company. I count around 20 guards outside. Sloppy and randomly spread around. The lake is barely guarded at all, just like Master Skywalker said. We can easily swim across the lake and into the waterpipes, but we're gonna have to leave most of our equipment here," he said and lowered the weapon, looking back at the others.

Random took the rifle and looked through the scope. This place was in serious bad shape. So unlike the Imperial Remnants to let a place like this fall for the slow decay of time. But judging by the soldiers walking around, these guys hadn't seen combat for years and were surely to damn lazy to maintain this place.

There was a almost comforting peace covering the valley. The Stormtroopers obviously didn't like to get wet and were gathering in groups of 3 or 4 under shelters spread around. Neglecting their original duties for their own comfort. Random almost felt sorry for them, cause if their mission was a successful one, they would either be forced to straighten up, or be transferred to a battlefield of some kind. Nothing they would enjoy.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Inside the basement of the prison complex, just below the ground level, the water circulationsystem had stayed up and running like this since the complex had been built. Never failed to do its duty, nor spread chemicals into the lake just outside.

But now it had seven unexpected guests making their way through the pipes. Equipped with small oxygen tanks no bigger than two average fingers, the sneaky Jedis could easily handle 5-6 minutes under water.

Auron's head was the first to penetrate the surface of the waterpool. His weary eyes and armed E-11 rifle scanned the room for anything that could pose as a threat. The only sound he could hear was the constant babbling of the water itself. And the sound of Ryu's head coming up next to him.

During the few days he had known the silent Kel Dor warrior, he had formed a kind of duelling brotherhood with him. They were close to equals when it came to the skills with the lightsaber, but Auron knew that Ryu could never beat him when it came to marksmanship. Auron had practised with a gun since he was a kid. Able to hit anything he aimed at, even if the target was moving. He could adapt himself to the gun the second he felt his fingers close in around it. Immediately calculate accuracy, range and firepower.

Dripping with water, he got out of the pool and used the Force to secure the room itself. Every shadow was lit up, every crate and hidingplace meant nothing. It took him only a few seconds to determine that the room was empty. The rest of the team came to the surface and climbed up onto the solid floor.

Each of them was now equipped with the standard E-11 blaster rifle in their hands. The lightsaber hung in their belts, ready to be put in use if necessary. For infiltration missions, lightsabers wasn't the ultimate choice, due to the sound and the light coming from the intense energyblade.

As they walked up to the door, Random, Auron and Ryu aimed at it with their guns while Tween walked up to it and closed her eyes. Scanning the room behind the door, she shook her head at the boys. Secured.

With the Force to guide them and telling them what they wanted to know about the room, they didn't have to check it twice as they stepped inside the new room. Nothing but a few old computers creating a comforting humming to the chanting of water in the back. As they stopped by the door leading to the corridor, Tween sensed something coming towards them.

Two individuals. Slow walk but still threatening. Random stepped up to the door and looked down the corridor and spotted two Stormtroopers coming towards them. The two soldiers seemed to have a rather boring conversation, discussing the fact that it was so dreadfully boring in this place.

"Ya know, man… I thought it would be exiting to be stationed on this rock. 'The home of the Rancors'. It sounded so promising, but the blasted beasts seem to keep to themselves. Don't ya think?" one of them said, obviously bored shitless.

"Are you crazy? I don't even wanna SEE a Rancor up close. I hear that their skin absorbs laser-fire. Gonna need a bloody cannon to put 'em down, and here you are, wishing for them to cause trouble?"

Suddenly, both Stormtroopers felt something slam into the back of their knees, sending them roughly to the floor. The helmet absorbed the impact-damage, but in surprise and reflex, they lost both weapons in order to hold their hands protective in front of them as they hit the floor.

Both helmets were pulled off their heads to stop them from calling for any kind of backup and the rifles were kicked away.

Looking up, they saw seven people gather around them. None of them aiming at them with their weapons, just standing there, looking down at their tackled bodies.

The first Stormtrooper got up and pulled out his survival knife, holding it in front of himself as a last line of defence. But his sense of having a tiny chance washed away as the people around him held small hilts of metal towards him.

His mind froze and he lost all control over his muscles. Lightsabers. Lots of lightsabers. The knife fell out of his hand and hit the floor with a dull 'tink'. Raising his hands in surrender, his buddy followed shortly afterwards.

"Good morning lads. Hope ya don't mind to take a break for a few hours?" the young Zabrak male with the tattoos said and flashed a grin at them. Both Stormtroopers stepped closer to one another. Looking around in their faces, their lives flashed before their eyes. And it didn't seem so interesting at all.

"A…..are you gonna kill us?" the second Stormtrooper asked as his eyes were focused on the black hole in the hilt pointing right at him. To his surprise, the human male with the black hair shook his head. Judging from the way the others lowered their hilts after that action, the knew he was the leader.

"Nope. We don't kill for pleasure. We're just here to rescue life. The two of you don't pose as a threat to us, but I'm afraid the both of you will be rather tied up about this room for a few hours," Random said to them and Selene handed him some bandage to tie their hands.

"Let's keep moving," Kayley said and pulled Random's sleeve. The two Stormtroopers was tied up and sat on the floor, looking at the seven of them with more awe than hate. They had been taught that Jedi Knights killed Stormtroopers on sight. This group somehow didn't.

"Okay… Thanks. Be safe…" the second Stormtroopers said as the group disappeared into the corridor and out of sight.

"Yo. Remember what I said about missing action and stuff?" the first one said.

"…yeah…?"

"I take it back."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was a long walk towards the top levels where the prison cells were located. Passing the old and boring corridors, eaten at by time and lack of care. They had come across a few patrols, but their positions were fairly easy to predict and they always found a place to hide. The troopers did their patrol out of pure habit instead of duty, using the time to walk for sport and talk with other troopers.

For now, it was best not to attract attention from the rest of the base by blasting off at any white uniform they came across. It felt like walking on eggs as they nearly checked the spot on the floor their boots would land. But with the Force, walking silently was much easier.

Finally, they reached the top floors.

And even here, things were pretty quiet. Even more quiet than downstairs. It was close to annoying not to run into some action. Just a few surveillance cameras they had to sneak past and a few troops that never even noticed them. It was almost too easy.

But the peace was short-lived as the door in front of them opened, revealing two Stormtroopers. Both groups was as surprised to see each other. Tween cursed for letting the silence of this place take her guard down. She had become out of focus for only a few seconds, and now she had to deal with the consequences.

The first trooper lifted his weapon, but before he could pull the trigger, Random had grabbed the barrel of the rifle and twisted it out of his grip, using Force-Push to throw him backwards. Slamming into the floor with a thud.

The second saw a green flash of light just in front of him, then he felt the weight if his weapon was reduced by half. Looking with horror behind the helmet, the trooper dropped the weapon that was now cut in half and took a few steps away from the masked Kel Dor who glared at him. Seeing no other way, the two troopers raised their hands in surrender.

"The prison cells….with the Republic pilots…….where are they?" Kayley asked as she and Selene removed their helmets. Both troopers pointed to the door behind them. Too frightened to speak up.

"How many people are in there to guard them?" Random asked and grabbed the closest trooper by the collar of his armour and pulled him close to his face. Trying to act scary, he saw the fear deep inside the trooper's eyes. He had most likely never seen a lightsaber nor a Jedi before.

"Uhm….I……one…one….there is only one……an officer…. a lieutenant…" the trooper stammered and the other nodded in agreement.

"You guys are coming with us…..in case we find out you are lying," Auron said and pressed the hilt of his lightsaber into the other's nose. None of the two dared to argue about that.

The were both shoved towards the door and forced to open it. Revealing a room with a few control panels and several monitors overlooking every cell. And in front of the biggest computer, was a chair with someone sitting there in it with both legs resting on the edge of the panel.

Auron and Phoenix raised their blaster rifles and slowly walked over to the officer. The chair hadn't turned around yet. The others remained at the door while Ryu guarded the corridor outside.

Auron and Phoenix jumped to each side of the chair and aimed at the officer sitting there. The black holes in the barrel of their guns were prepared to blow him to the next world if he tried anything stupid.

But to their surprise, the officer didn't move an inch. Sitting casual in the chair with his black boots resting on the controlpanel in front of him, the officer didn't seem to notice them.

"Hey. Give us the keys to the cellblock, now," Auron said as he looked at the officer from head to toe, trying to read his body language in case he was going to surprise him. But not even then the man moved. Phoenix bent down and looked up under his grey cap and into his face.

"Hello?……Anyone home?" Phoenix said and waved his hand in front of his face. Still no reaction. Only the slow rising of his chest, moving his stomach in and out indicated that he was alive.

"I think this lad is asleep," Phoenix said and stood up as he lifted the officercap on his head and let Auron look at the quiet expressionless face. Auron didn't lower his gun at him, but he had to admit that he expected him to be awake after the noise they had created in the corridor, but this guy was sleeping like a baby.

"Uhm….Random?… This guy's sleeping… What do we do?" Auron said and turned his eyes over to Random who tried to lock the door to the corridor.

"Wake him up," was his reply as Ryu stepped inside the room and closed the door behind it and locked it. Walking up behind the two captured troopers to make sure they didn't caused any trouble.

Phoenix grinned like a child and looked down at the sleeping officer. Putting his hands under the boots still resting on the controls, he lifted them up and caused the officer and the chair to fall backwards and crashing into the floor, instantly waking him up from his dreams.

"Hey what in tarnation is going on here?" he yelped out as he shook off him the surprise. As he was about to get up from the floor, a sudden intense light appeared right in front of his face. At first he thought someone had shot him and that the world froze, allowing him to see his life flash before his eyes. But as his eyes looked down the warm trail of green light. NOW his life flashed before him.

"….Jedis…. Please don't hurt me… I have a wife, kids, popcornmachine and a mutt… Please…" the guard begged to the owner of the lightsaber. Ryu of course, didn't say a word in return.

"Relax, pops… Show us that key ya wearing that will open the cells for us, and we'll spare that life of yers, and yer friends over there. " Phoenix said with a grin and looked down at his frightened face. The Officer nodded and pointed at the keycard hanging down from his right pocket.

"Let's go, R-man," Phoenix said to Random and snatched the keycard.

"Yeah. The rest of you stay here and watch over the prisoners. We'll put them in a nice cosy cell when we're done," Random said to the rest of the group and received a confirming nod from everyone. Next thing he felt was Phoenix grabbing his sleeve and pulled him down the other corridor.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The cellblock was huge. But luckily for Random and Phoenix, most of the doors were partly broken or none-existing. Phoenix started to hum as they walked down the dark corridor, trying to get the moods up again. Not that it helped much.

"You have to do that?" Random asked and looked over to the young Zabrak. Phoenix just grinned and shrugged the question away as he continued to hum. Suddenly Random stopped him and pointed to the door just in front of them. A red light lit the dark wall above it indicating that someone was inside of it. The pilots.

"Oh yeah…. Finally we're getting to rescue something that isn't devoured by anything, eh R-Man?" Phoenix said and nudged his friend. Random just sighed and shook his head. Putting the keycard into the slot next to the door, the metallic surface quickly disappeared.

The inside of the cell was fairly lit up as small bits and pieces of the wall were missing, providing the seven pilots inside with plenty of light in this dark situation. The rain that was now covering this side of the planet easily entered the cracks in the ceiling, making nice little puddles on the cold floor.

Looking at the door, they expected a group of Stormtroopers or maybe a interrogation droid of some kind. Not two young men dressed up like Jedi Knights.

"Thank ya so much for using Jedi Rescue Phone. For just 100 credits an hour, we rescue everything, with or without pulse," Phoenix said and received an elbow in the arm from Random.

"We're sent by the New Republic to get you out of here. Please follow us," Random said and got everyone of the pilots on their feet. They looked like they had been given some rough treatment and no food. Dirty, tired and rugged they reminded Random of themselves.

The pilots didn't believe their eyes as they came back to the controlroom and saw the rest of the rescue group. All Jedis. A Zabrak girl and a Kel Dor male pushed the two captured Stormtroopers and the officer back the way they had just arrived. Figuring the Imperials would be put in their cells for discomfort.

"Are you really Jedi Knights?" one of the pilots asked. To his surprise, all the people shook their heads. But their hope was quickly restored when they said they came from the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. Close enough.

"Okay people. We need to get to the southern hangar now. According to Master Skywalker, there will be some shuttles for us to escape in. Let's move," Random said and opened the door to the corridor again. Checking it for enemies, he signalised to the rest that it was clear.

And with Tween and Ryu back from the cell block, they made a run for it.

The pilots were tired and scared. But they knew that following these young warriors through the base was the safest route. Running between them, with three Jedi in the front and four in the back, they felt at least a tiny spark of security. Enough to drive them on.

It didn't take long before they saw white uniforms around the corners as they ran down the corridor. Hearing someone shout at them, Random knew that their cover was blown. The troopers wasn't in their direction and disappeared too fast for them to shoot them. All they could was keep running, and pray they didn't run into a small army of Stormtroopers.

The sound of the alarm suddenly rang through the complex, mixed with more shouting behind them. But they couldn't stop now and make a stand. It was too late for that now.

Phoenix felt a beam of energy fly past his ear, slamming into the wall next to him with a small black mark on the dull painting. A few inches to the left, and that blast would have hit him between the horn.

Ryu grabbed the young Zabrak and pulled him away from another blast that passed just next to them. Looking over his shoulder, he saw one Stormtrooper kneeling at a corner way behind them, aiming his weapon at them. Activating his lightsaber, Ryu spun around in the air and felt the slight vibration in the hilt as the blast his directly into his blade, sending it back and into the wall.

Next thing he saw was Auron joining him with his blaster rifle, sending a rain of red beams back towards the attackers. He didn't try to hit anyone, knowing that rapid fire never became accurate firing, but it was enough for the troopers to keep their heads low.

Random yelled back at them that they had reached the hangar. Just in time as the other end of the long corridor became a moving mass of white uniforms and red fire. The second everyone was safely inside the empty hangar, Random and Kayley sealed the door and destroyed the mechanism that would open it. It bought them a few minutes, hopefully.

The hangar was gigantic, with only three shuttles stationed there. Everyone scanned their part with their eyes before they could determine the hangar was indeed empty. Kayley broke into a run away from the door and into the closest shuttle with Tween backing her up.

Even the shuttle was empty. Like it was begging someone to fly it. And hearing the call, Kayley went straight behind the controls in the pilotseat. Random came in only seconds after, strapping himself to the chair next to her.

The rest of the group entered the shuttle and found a seat. Straping themselves, they prayed for a safe take-off.

Kayley pressed a few buttons on the dashboard and the alarm in the hangar said the doors would open in a few seconds. Right after that, she activated the rest of the shuttle, hearing the comforting sound of the engines awakening after a long sleep. Feeling the entire shuttle trembled by the force of the engines, she smiled. Turning her head towards Random, she saw that he was smiling back at her. The mission was soon over.

The gigantic metaldoors slowly opened, revealing a rainy Dathomirian jungle. The skies had opened their gates and unleashed a rough rainstorm over the fertile land. Random smiled again, this time to himself as he began to think of his bed back at Yavin 4. How he longed to spend the rest of the day there.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

But his victory was brutally cut off as a gigantic hand grabbed the hangar gate and brutally pulled the whole thing right off the wall. Random and Kayley watched as the newly created opening revealed their old one-eyed Rancor friend. And he had brought reinforces.

Out of the foggy rain, over 20 Rancors marched head-on towards the now open base. Their massive bodies dripping with rain and hate and everyone of them unleashed a roar, shaking the very foundations of the planet. Hands filled with razor-sharp claws prepared themselves for killing and destruction.

"You think he's here to forgive us?" Kayley whispered in a almost squeaky voice. Looking over to Random, he simply shook his head in return.

Random quickly went through the alternatives in his head. Sorting out ideas that were useful and those who were plain madness. And he came down to two conclusion.

If they stayed in the shuttle, the Rancors would rip this ship apart like a ragged piece of meat.

If they left, the Rancors would rip THEM apart.

Random looked out through the window to take the hangar itself in a big view, trying to ignore the Rancors making their way towards them. The hangar was huge, filled with crates in all sizes that could prove useful for cover. If the Rancors didn't smack them away instead of moving around them.

Random un-strapped himself from his seat and opened the door leading to the others. Kayley turned her head towards him with a frightened look on her face.

"Hey where are you going?" she called out for him.

"I'm gonna distract them. Once the Rancors gets away from the opening, get this ship outside and I'll try to get back to you," Random said and opened the door leading back to the hangar. The others all turned in their seats as they looked at him. Looking back at Kayley, they saw the Rancors making their way through the hangar opening, coming right towards them.

Random ran to the right, speeding up by using the Force. He had to get as much space between himself and the ship as possible. Jumping up on top of a few crates, he grabbed his blaster and aimed at the Rancor closest to the ship. He recognized the black hole in the skull. The same Rancor that had followed them last night.

Sending a blast of pure energy towards the creature, he took out his lightsaber and started waving it around to get attention.

The big Rancor felt something annoying burn at the side of its head. Turning to the right, the eye that still existed saw something familiar. The blue light that caused great pain. And the piece of food who blinded it. The feeling of hate returned to its head as it opened its mouth and roared on top of its lungs.

Random felt his heart skip a beat as he saw the Rancor roar at him. It skipped a few more beats as the rest of the Rancors suddenly grew completely quiet and looked in his direction. After the one-eyed had unleashed another roar, the entire pack moved towards him. The entire hangar was filled with the rumbling sound of their growls and their mighty footsteps.

Kayley looked on the scene happening outside the shuttle. One Rancor was bad enough… but 20????? And Random was alone against them. She looked over to him and saw his blaster rifle was on rapid fire, as a rain of blasts rained against their massive bodies, not seeming to have any affect whatsoever.

She wanted to turn this ship around and start blasting at them from behind with the canons mounted on the ship. But that would attract unwanted attention and make his sacrifice a useless one. Leaving the door in the back open, she activated the engines and the ship slowly rose from the floor.

Random heard the click coming from his blaster. No more ammo, meaning he would have to rely on his skills to get out of this mess. Throwing the blaster at the closest Rancor, he grabbed the hilt of his lightsaber and took a huge backflip, landing between the big crates and containers.

Not wasting a second, he ran deeper into the maze of steel boxes, seeing gigantic shadows moving on the surface of the containers all around him. Starting to think that this hadn't been his brightest idea.

Looking up at a corner, a ugly massive head came around and glared down at him. The next thing that happened was the container itself coming right at him, threatening to crush him between it and another crate. Without thinking, Random jumped upwards and landed on top of the moving container, looking at five Rancors attempting to grab him.

"Act on instincts, don't think," Random said to himself as he rolled out of their way and jumped to his feet. Jumping again, he landed on one of their heads, actually feeling the growl under his feet before he jumped again towards a bigger container.

Which was lucky, because the second he jumped away, two other Rancors slammed their fists at him, hitting the third Rancor, starting a big brawl between them.

Random couldn't allow himself to stand still for a split second as he kept running and jumping. He had gotten the Rancors far away from the shuttle like he should. Now it was time to get back. But as he jumped off this new crate, he felt the presence of the one-eyes Rancor again… right below him.

The foaming Rancor slammed its hand into the body and sent him flying over the crates, landing brutally one the floor, knocking the air out of his lungs.

Random's world was about to fade as the enormous pain raced through his chest. Trying to get up, he saw that the one-eyes Rancor and eight others were making their way towards him.

The whole hangar once again trembled under their might. Feeling the floor under his body shook with each of their footsteps. His body cried out, demanding that he would get up and continue to run.

His rescue came in a form he had never expected. From the door he and his friends had come through, a rain of red blasts rained upon the Rancors. Creating confusion in their attack. Lifting his head, he spotted a group of ten Stormtroopers. Every one of them were blasting off towards the Rancor, trying to hold their ground. These creatures could tear this place apart now that they were inside. That was something they couldn't allow.

Whilst the Rancors tried to understand the situation, Random used vital Force energy to heal himself enough for him to get up. Not much of a healing, but it would have to do for now. Forcing himself back on his feet, he continued to run towards the hangar opening leading outside into the rain and to his ticket home.

Running out into the rain, Random thought he had never before been more happy to get the comforting cooling the rain could provide him. The burning pain in his chest started to dim off as his black outfit turned wet. All the more reason to long for a nice day in bed, reading a nice holocron or something. Maybe learn some new secrets about the Force.

He stopped for a second as he noticed he was lost in the fog and the rain. Looking around, all he could see was grey shadows and water passing his vision. He had told Kayley to wait for him outside… had they left him?

Looking around, he suddenly saw something forming in the wall of moist and raindrops, hearing the sound of engines coming all around him. He knew it. They hadn't left him. Smiling to himself he limped towards the shadow, keeping the memory of his bed fresh.

But before he realized his mistake, the shadow emerged out of the fog. It wasn't the shuttle.

The one-eyes Rancor glared down at him. Finally it had him trapped out here where there was no cover. Seeing the tiny dot on the ground moving around like a wounded animal it knew that this time, revenge would prevail. And lunch would be served.

The blue light from that weird metal thing came back. The pain-bringer. Snarling in anger, the Rancor ripped up the ground in front of it, sending a wall of mud, water and dirt right at the food. Causing the blue light to disappear and the food falling to the ground, trying to crawl away.

For maybe the first time in its life, the Rancor actually smiled. The next second, everything went black.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A burning shockwave covered Random as he was crawling on the wet ground. The sound of bones being crushed and meat being burned to ashes followed the huge explosions that took place just above him. He suddenly felt the ground right behind him being crushed under the mighty weight of the Rancor, knowing the foot mush be mere inches away from him. At least he would fight to the end, he thought and rolled around onto his back with the lightsaber back online to make a last stand.

But there was nothing looking down at him. But by looking down at his feet he saw the Rancor one the wet ground… with the massive head nothing more than a smoking crater on the gigantic body. Chunks of fried meat and bloody pieces lay all over the place. It was dead.

The wind around him suddenly grew stronger as the sound of the engines came closer. Looking up towards the raining sky, he saw the shuttle lowering itself towards him, the mainguns glowing at the tip of the barrel.

Kayley had returned and saved his life just in time. Facing her fears and terminated it.

Seeing Ryu coming down for him, hanging from a rope, he couldn't help but to smile. It was over. Feeling the darkness taking over, he closed his eyes as he felt Ryu's three-fingered hand grab him and held him close for being dragged back into the shuttle.

When he opened them again, he was laying on one of the beds in the shuttle, Selene sitting bend over him, taking care of his wounds. Another one from the group of rescued pilots sat on the other side of the bed, working with Selene. Phoenix stood behind them and glared at Random. His yellow eyes piercing him through the bones.

"Listen up, R-Man….. the next time ya rush yer dumb nut into another crazy-arse suicide attack like that…… the least ya could do was to invite me along, savvy?…"Phoenix said and grinned like a kid down at his leader.

The pilot attending to him pushed Phoenix gently away before Random could say anything else.

"Thank you all for coming to our rescue. Those Imperials would have beaten the information out of us with those nasty interrogation droids. The New Republic will surely send you a reward for this," he said. The rest of the pilots nodded in agreement and could for once feel the comfort in a soft seat, inviting them all to a trouble-free sleep.

"A vacation would be nice……" Random said before his eyes closed again. Selene covered his beaten body with a warm blanket and put a wet, cooling cloth over his forehead, telling him to get some sleep.

The warmth was so overwhelming to his nearly broken body. The biting aching slipped through the fabric of the blanked. Feeling his body loosen up, drifting into a comfortable sleep, surrounded by a gentle darkness that embraced him and kept him safe as the shuttle jumped into hyperspace.

On the way back to Yavin 4. Towards home.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That's it for another chapter, but fear not. A new chapter is under construction as soon as I have the time. But a little sad news I have. From now on, suggestions for missions won't be fulfilled unless they REALLY get my attention. Right now I sit on so many suggestions that I fear that I'm over my head in them.

And last, but not least, here is a feedback to my faithful reviewers. The very oil that keeps the machinery inside my head going.

Wrrohm: Thank ya so much for a nice review. I know that school is always against us authors, but that's life. No escapable route to take that doesn't take ya to yer doom. Sad really.

Tinuviel Undomiel: Sorry they never met the Force Witches, but maybe if they are unlucky, they will get the chance to meet them in a later chapter. Next chapter will have Jan and Kyle, so keep yer ears open.

Seriyu-the-ice-dragon: I think Korriban is still around. Lot's of burial places fro Siths… How nice a visit would that be? Maybe they visit it someday… who knows? I KNOW!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

The password is password: The thought have passed me mind more than once. And I have a feeling that it will become real soon enough. Just sit down and wait.

Shanesnest: The man himself. Thank you so much for liking these characters. And I trust ya had a nice experience with this chapter. Bet ya thought the ending would be nice and quiet… No serrie. I had to bring the Rancor back. I just love to cause trouble for them when they least expect it.

Omeganian: Yes, If ya read this, then I can be delighted to tell ya that Rosh will appear in the next chapter. He was highly annoying in the game, and I ain't saying if he's changed now or not. Time will tell.

Shalashaska-001: Nope, he came back to teach them a final lesson. And I'm so glad to hear that you are planning to return to the author business. Way to go.

Snackfiend101: Reviews like this always warms an old heart. Thank you so much, but don't underestimate yerself. But to your question, yes I have considered a beta-reader, but I don't know who to give the mission to. Do you feel up for it? If the answer is yes, send me a mail.

Ultimate-Vader-Fan: I think both Ryu and Phoenix love ya as well. But since Ryu is on his way to fall for Tween, I think Phoenix will fall for YOU. But I have a feeling that ya won't mind that. Heh heh. But I'm glad ya liked the two of them. I'm proud of them meself. Soon, they will have a mission for their own. Stay tuned for that.

Metalmorph: You idea for a mission is proving most interesting, and it shall be done. As for the new lightsaber styles, they will come. They don't give double-bladed lightsabers to rookies, ya know. As for our fave Sith (next to Darth Vader) his name is Darth Maul… Not Dart Mole.   
Knight2 is da best: Funny name ya have selected, but no complaining. Your idea of a mission is interesting, and possibly the next mission after a nice few days at the Academy. But don't expect it to happen just the way ya said, cause I find it a little lack-of-details, if ya know what I mean. And to start kissing in a situation like that is soooo Hollywood. I want something original. I want it my way. 

Dark Master: Your idea of a mission is basically the same as a inch above this line. It's a good idea, no doubts of that, but a bit vague for my taste. I don't want the kissing scene to come just like that. Love needs time. But I won't let ya down, boy. Just stay with the story and you will be rewarded.

PS: Thanks for saying this story kicked Harry Potter's ass. That means I'm really getting better in the author business.

The Dark Lord Revan: Thank you for the review. Hope this Rancor fight proved to be worthy of yer attention. And if the feeling of loving someone is the path to the dark side, then call me a Sith right away.

Peace out, my friends. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.


	7. Chapter 7

Jedi Academy

The Magnificent Seven

Chapter 7

(My first Jedi Knight story. Just so you know, Star Wars belongs to George Lucas. Bless his genius mind. So if anything is in violation of the Star Wars spirit, let HIM speak up. Thanks)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jaden Korr sat in the infirmary, watching over one of her students who had returned last night from a rescue mission on Dathomir. It was past midnight now, and the young man in front of her, Random, had been here for about 24 hours. The medics had given him some medicine that would ease the pain in his body, but also made him sleepy.

Random's body itself, was beaten. According to the others on his team, he had tried to lead a large group of 20 angry Rancors away from the ship so the others could take off. Apparently, he hadn't been all that lucky in getting away from them.

But now he was home at Yavin 4. Deep inside the Jedi Academy where he was safe. The soft beds here at the infirmary had been so comfortable for him, that he hadn't opened his eyes since he arrived. Wandering deep into his own personal dream world, free and happy.

But the others had been deeply worried about him. They had all been sitting with him for hours during his stay, making sure he was comfortable and warm. The silent Kel Dor that Jaden knew was Ryu had been here nearly all the time since he had arrived. So had the young pilot girl, Kayley, Jaden had to literally drag her out of the room so she could get to bed. Their training had to continue tomorrow morning.

The soft sound coming from the computers in the infirmary was relaxing, and the others in the same room seemed to have no problems in sleeping.

Looking at his nightstand, she counted at least 5 Jedi Holocrons for him to read when he woke up. Of course, how to use The Force to heal the body was on top of the little pile of cubes.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The first beams of sunlight hit the top of the temple as a new day greeted the planet once again. The shadows slowly crawled down from the mighty walls and into the jungle outside the Academy. The whole forest that covered most of the view seemed to come to life as sounds from animals tuned up, waking the first sleepyheads from their beds

Phoenix sat straight in his bed and stretched his arms and let out a lazy yawn before swinging himself out of the comfort and onto the floor. Straightening up his pjs, he threw his pillow over at Ryu, who instantly woke up.

"Rise 'nd shine, ya sleepy morons. Breakfast in 10 minutes," Phoenix said and danced around the beds. Waking them up one by one in a way that couldn't be healthy. For the one doing the waking.

"Tween… tell that brother of yours to shut up unless he wants an extra ventilation hole in his head" Auron growled from under his blanket.

"Phoenix… just leave us alone, eh? Ya can bug us at noon," Tween mumbled as she slipped out of her bed and into her boots. Phoenix clapped his hands in excitement and zipped out of the chamber to find some breakfast.

The rest of the boys slipped into their training clothes and followed Phoenix's trail of destruction and laughter while Selene, Tween and Kayley stayed behind in the chamber. The young medic and the young Zabrak flopped down next to Kayley and looked under the bangs of her hair that hid a sleepy expression.

"Hey… You look like you haven't slept for days… You okay?" Selene asked and got the young pilot's attention.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kayley yawned and ran her hands through her long brown hair. Selene let out a faint giggle and shook her head.

"Kayley… hon… ya look like a Bantha just sat its hairy arse on ya," Tween joked and put her hand on Kayley's shoulder.

"Well… I'm worried about Random, that's all. Master Jaden didn't want me to stay with him during last night," Kayley answered. Selene leaned back into the bed and supported herself with her arms, remembering Random's health when they dragged him into the shuttle back on Dathomir.

"You two seem to get along pretty well, is there something more then meets the eye here?" Selene said and looked at Kayley, who now was instantly awake.

"Just what are you insinuating here?" Kayley snapped, causing Tween to giggle.

"All I'm saying is that is seems you and Random are having a very close friendship."

"Aye… so close that I can nearly hear wedding bells," Tween said and received a pillow in the face, knocking her out of the bed.

"So you two insinuate that I'm in love with Random?" Kayley hissed and stood ready with the pillow, prepared to bash the crap out of anything who said a word out of line.

"Insinuating? No. Flat out TELLING you," Selene said and grabbed Tween with her as she ran out of the bed and dived for cover in the corridor. The two girls were both quickly on their feet again and ran like crazy down the hall towards the dining room.

Kayley strapped on her boots and ran after them with a killer-look, only to crash into Jaden on the way out of the chamber. Jaden stood steady as a rock, while Kayley fell back inside and landed on her back.

"Where's the fire?" Jaden asked and looked down at the young pilot stumbling back to her feet.

"N..nothing, Jaden… ma'am…I mean Master," Kayley stammered and brushed herself. She hesitated on telling Jaden the real reason why she was in a hurry, but a tingly feeling in the back of her head told her that Jaden already knew.

"I was… just rushing to breakfast. I'm hungry," she finished with a grin.

"Mhm, sure. Listen, while you are at the dining room, would you be kind enough to fetch Random a plate? He hasn't eaten at all since you arrived, and he'll be awake in a few minutes according to the doctors. I'm a little busy right now," Jaden said and was about to walk away when Kayley stopped her.

"What's going on?" the young pilot asked.

"The Academy is having a special visitor today. Kyle Katarn's wife is landing in a few minutes. I think I should be there," Jaden said and looked back at Kayley who stood there like she was in shock.

"Master Katarn is married…? With who?"

"Her name is… WAS Jan Ors. Now she's Jan Katarn. They have been married for nearly 13 years now. She's an amazing woman and one of the best pilots in the galaxy. I'm sure you'll meet her soon enough," Jaden said and walked away. She was already getting late and it was a long way to the hangar.

Kayley just stood there like she was frozen on the spot, slowly digesting the information she just had received. Then she suddenly remembered her current mission. Snapping out of her daydreaming, she used what she had learned in Force Speed and darted towards the dining room. After all Random had done for her, she could at least give him a little meal for the trouble.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Shortly after, Random woke up as he heard some of the other patients yelp as the good doctor was examining his leg after getting caught by one of the training sabers, according to the rumors.

The patients in this room had developed a way of communication that was based upon rumors and guessing. Whenever a new student was brought there, the talk already began, as well as sharing info about each other. Everyone knew Random's injuries and joked about him challenging a pack of Rancors to a boxing-match.

Sitting up in his bed, Random rubbed his eyes, looked around in the room and adjusteg to the sunlight that was blessing his face with warm waves.

He looked under the sheet and saw that his body had several bandages wrapped around him, but the good thing was that none of them had any signs of blood. That meant that he was healing AND still alive.

And speaking of healing, Random saw a few newly created Jedi Holocrons used for research on top of his nightstand. Like the kind of books students back home at Coruscant sat with most of the day, only these was much cooler. And of course, how to use the Force to heal wounds and injuries lay on top. Grabbing it, Random opened and started to read. It was strange to read something and learn it when all he could see was this comfortable light coming from the little cube.

Just as he began to get into the first chapter, the door to the infirmary opened and in stepped Ryu, Phoenix, Tween, Auron and Selene. Seeing that their friend was wide awake, they rushed over and started to interrogate him on how he felt, what he was thinking when he had all those Rancors after him and if he have had a nice night in this room.

All these questions rained over him and poor Random, still a bit tired from his last mission could barely finish an answer before he had to answer the next. But amongst all their voices, he still couldn't hear Kayley's voice.

But the sudden sound of the door opening again, caught the attention of all those around the bed as Jaden and Kyle walked into the infirmary. To Random's amazement, there was a woman walking right next to Kyle, holding his hand.

The woman herself looked beautiful, for an adult. She was dressed like a pilot with clothes similar to Kayley, except these were in a lighter color. Elegant brown hair formed a ponytail swished behind her head. Kyle's eyes locked onto Random and gave the young man a smile.

"Well, here is one who picked a wrong fight. How are you feeling, Random?" Kyle asked as everyone stood next to another around Random's bed. With having so many people look at him like this made Random feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh, everyone. I would like you all to meet my wife, Jan. Jan, meet Jaden's students. These are the ones who brought back the missing pilots from Dathomir," Kyle said and everyone in the group greeted her. Jan smiled back at them all and felt honored to meet such polite students. Then turning towards the young man in the bed, her sense of humor couldn't be held back anymore.

"And judging by the looks of this poor creature, my guess is that YOU are the crazy-ass who thought playing tag with a group of Rancors was a smart idea," Jan said and saw that her remark made the young man grin. Kyle on his side wasn't the least surprised that Jan said that, but he was surprised that her remark also caused the others around him to giggle.

"………..cough cough well, the 'crazy-ass' is Random. This is Ryu, Phoenix, Tween, Selene and Auron and Ka…. Hey where is Kayley?" Kyle said and noticed for the first time that the team was missing a person.

"I sent her on a mission to get Random some breakfast, but I would have expected her to arrive by now," Jaden said and closed her eyes, using her knowledge in the Force to try and locate her. If Master Luke could locate someone halfway around the planet, a few corridors of stone would be a piece of Jawa-cake.

Her expression relaxed and finally, she opened her eyes and turned towards the door.

"She'll be walking in here in a few seconds… and she's not alone," Jaden said and a few seconds later, the metallic door slid open, revealing Kayley carrying a plate with lots of food. Next to her was a tall handsome boy, who obviously said something to make Kayley laugh.

Jan turned her head away from the two of them since she really didn't get a good look at them before they disappeared behind Kyle's back. But looking back at the boy on the bed, she saw a hint of shock in his eyes upon seeing them. Being the smart woman she had always been, she quickly understood what the young man was thinking… and feeling.

"Hey, Kayley… who's this lad, eh?" Phoenix asked as soon as he placed eyes on them.

"Hi guys. Oh, this is Arthas, an old friend of mine from Tatooine. I just met him by the food table and he wanted to catch up," Kayley said and walked over to Random and placed the plate she had brought on his lap. By now, Random had once again put on his normal expression, with a little added smile.

Now all eyes were at Kayley and her new 'old' friend.

"So… just an old friend, eh?" Phoenix asked and eyed the boy called Arthas. Somehow it seemed like they had more than just a friendship behind them.

"Well… ex-boyfriend is closer to the truth, but I hope to change that again," Arthas said with a smile and put an arm around Kayley's shoulders. Most of the group stared at them in disbelief. Random felt like someone had pierced him with a lightsaber.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After a few minutes, the doctor came and told them to leave the room so he could check on Random's condition in peace. Maybe determine if he was fit enough to go back to training.

As the group walked down the hallway, Phoenix suddenly grabbed both Auron and Ryu and pulled them into a room. Checking if anyone was there, they discovered that they had entered one of the older training halls for lightsaber sparring. Auron and Ryu were hurled into the room while Phoenix closed and locked the door behind them.

"What is the meaning of this, Phoenix? Have some respect," Auron snapped, a little mad for being pulled around like that. Ryu just looked at Phoenix, crossing his arms. His posture and arms told him that he didn't like this sudden change of behavior from the young Zabrak.

"Quiet, lads. We got to do something, aye?"

"What do you mean? Have those horns on your head finally affected your brain?"

"What do I mean? Didn't you see the look on Random's face? Ryu, ya always pay attention to details. Have ya ever seen yer friend like that before?" Phoenix said and looked at the young Kel Dor. Ryu just looked back at him for a few second, then turning towards Auron. Then he slowly shook his head. Phoenix started to talk again.

"Listen, lads. I think we can state clear as a lightsaber that our noble teamleader has a slight crush on the good lass Kayley, savvy?"

"Random has a crush on Kayley? Get out of here…… really? He is?" Auron continued.

"DOH! They call me thick headed, eh… I think I got the short end of the stick there, laddie. Didn't ya two see them back on Dathomir… when we spent that night in that big-ass tree. They were sitting closer together than a married couple," Phoenix babbled and gave both boys a evil glare. Ryu and Auron looked at him in a state of mild shock, before looking at each other.

"Uhm… I must confess I was pretty much sleeping through the whole night, so I didn't see anything," Auron said and turned his head away from Ryu and back to Phoenix. Ryu made a few signals with his hands and the message was clear as day.

"He's right, aye. R-man has been acting strange lately around her. I think mute-boy here knows him better than any of us, savvy… no offence, Ryu," Phoenix said and flashed a huge grin. Ryu just waved him off, telling him it was okay.

"Okay… say that Random HAS a crush on Kayley… seeing her with that Arthas guy can't exactly add points to his favor… and the given fact that the two of them have been a couple before back on Tatooine isn't exactly good news… but what can we do?" Auron asked yet again. Phoenix started to scratch his horny skull and started to walk in circles.

"Well… we can't let this happen. What we'll do is simply this…" Phoenix said with a evil grin on his tattooed face and gestured the two of them to come closer.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Back in the infirmary, Random just lay in his bed, neither touching or wanting his food. The pain from the Rancor's fist hurt like hell, but what he had just witnessed was unbearable. He felt like someone had rammed a lightsaber through his gut and used Force Lightening on his drafty remains.

He knew he had no claim whatsoever on Kayley, but lately, he had felt some strange feelings every time he saw her, thought about her, felt her and smelled her. She had become this little obsession of his… He was deeply in love with her, but right now, he was reduced to nothing but a spectator. He closed his eyes and remembered from his history lessons the old Code Of The Jedi… the first of them "There is no emotions… there is peace."

Right now he wished that he could feel that, but he couldn't.

"Well, with THAT attitude, you won't get anywhere," he suddenly heard a female voice speak to him. Quickly being snapped back to reality, Random felt his heart jump into his throat. His eyes quickly looked over to the door where the voice came from.

In the doorway, stood none other than Jan. Kyle's wife. Leaning at the wall with her arms folded, she looked right at him with a sly smile on her face. Random felt himself blush a bit from being caught off guard like that… and for being talked to a person of such importance.

"Wha….? Random stammered. The woman walked over and found a chair to sit on.

"You look like someone told you that you would die tomorrow or something," Jan said and gave him a look that meant 'You know what I'm talking about'. All Random could do was to look down on himself and realize that he did looked depressed. That wasn't right with the Jedi Code.

"So… you have a voice or do I have to beat the truth out of you?" she said, leaning back into the chair, waiting for the boy to talk.

"What is there to talk about?" Random mumbled. Jan recognized the sadness in his voice, like a man on the brink of destruction in the heart.

"About this girl you love. Come on, it's written all over your messed-up face."

Random sighed and looked over at her. Taking a good look at her face, he couldn't determine if she was wise or just a wiseass.

"You a telepath or something?" Random replied, trying to look away, but her eyes had captured him like he was under some sort of spell. Any attempt to look away, she would jump at him and bite his head off… like a snake ready to strike.

"I'm not a telepath, kid. I've just seen that face on myself quite a few times in the past. I don't have numbers on how many times Kyle has caused that face on me," she said with a sudden gentleness in her voice. Her face slowly growing sad.

"Really? I didn't know that… I'm sorry."

"It's no big deal, kid. Kyle and I go way back, but it just took us some time to… open our eyes to each other and discover the truth about our feelings. To see other girls trying to hit on him, it really hurt my feelings," Jan quietly said to him. Random sat up straight in his bed and pulled his knees up to his chest, listening to her words.

This woman had faced what he was now in the middle of and she obviously had stepped out victorious. Maybe he could do the same. Maybe.

"But no matter how bad things were going and no matter how much it hurt my feelings, I told myself that Kyle couldn't be blamed for anything. The longer I kept my feelings hidden, the more he could slip away. I wouldn't give up hope. THAT'S what you got to do unless you are planning on staying miserable for the rest of your life," Jan finished and looked at him.

"Uhm… so… what do you want me to do?" Random asked and scratched his head. But before he could do anything else, the 'snake' lunged at him and grabbed him forcefully by his collar and pulled him close to her face. Her eyes were burning.

"I want you to tell her the truth, whelp, and if you DON'T, I'm gonna make sure only the dentist at this place can identify your body, is that crystal clear!" Jan snarled at him, causing the attention to most of the people in the room.

Random was about to say something, but he was too damn scared of this sudden change of mood. This was it… she WAS gonna bite his head off…

"Uhm… why… why do you want to help me?" was all Random could say. Jan sighed and let go of his collar, letting him fall back onto the bed. Her expression was once back to calm.

"Cause I see something of myself in you, kid… And I don't want you to go as long as I did before you confess. So tell me a little about her, from your own point of view," Jan said and sat back down in her chair again. Random sighed and relaxed. He had a feeling it wasn't dangerous to talk to this woman.

"Well where can I start? Ever since I first saw her just outside this temple, I felt there was something special about her. She had the spirit, the smile, the guts and the looks. When I saw that we were all in the same group, I was so happy. It was like fate. You think it was our destiny, Jan?" Random said and felt his cheek blushed, hearing himself talk about Kayley like this.

"Only one way to find out, kiddo. Ask her. If she says 'yes' it's fate, if she says 'no'… you'll get the idea."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Meanwhile, many students gathered outside in the training ground at a timber-structure used for lightsaber duels. Huge logs forming a several layered structured where the students could train their saberskills, as well as balance and coordination.

On the biggest structure, Ryu, Auron and Phoenix trained against several Training Remotes. These small hovering druids circled around them, blasting small charges at them for them to deflect. Phoenix looked over his shoulder for a short moment and saw that Arthas and his group were doing the same on the structure next to them. This was perfect for their little plan.

High up in the academy, Luke Skywalker sat in meditation, diving deep inside the nature of the Force. Each day, he discovered new limits for his powers, picking up a mischief plot from just outside the temple wasn't as hard as it sounded.

Rolling his eyes, the old Jedi stood up and walked over to the window. Looking down at the training ground, he spotted several students gathering around one of the big duel-structures.

He counted at least 30 of them, eagerly watching the preparation of a duel between two young Jedi.

Sighing to himself, he sent a mental note to the two duelists masters, telling them what was going on. In the meantime, he would enjoy this show. It was always entertaining to see newcomers duel, just to see if they had the skills.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ryu and Arthas stood on each log, looking at each other without so much as a word. The calm wind washed over them, sending the delightful smell from the jungle through the arena. Both fighters presented their weapons and bowed to each other, a common ritual in the Jedi Order.

Once the greetings were over, the two of them took their stance and activated their weapons. The rough humming and the bright light from the blades colored their faces, one emerald as the forest, one blue as the skies.

The students gathered around, looking at the two with awe. Arthas was the best in his group when it came to using a lightsaber, but Ryu's reputation of being only matched by his own master was widely known around the academy.

Phoenix was already taking bets about the fight, walking from student to student and gathering their credits. Everyone wanted a part of the bet.

The human agaist the Kel Dor.

Arthas was the first to make his move, charging towards Ryu with his saber and brought it into a wide swing. The calm Kel Dor was fast and easily dodged the poorly planned attack. Arthas shifted grip on his handle and tried another swing and this time, he was rewarded with the sound of the two energy-blades brutally connecting. The two opponents stood in the lock, faces mere inches away from each other.

Suddenly, instead of pushing his weight towards Arthas, Ryu took a quick step backwards, still keeping his balance on the log. Arthas didn't expect this sudden change of attack and lost his foothold for a half second, all the time Ryu needed to totally get him off the log.

Victory was short, as Arthas managed to get his hand on one of the logs below and swung himself over to another, once again facing Ryu. The crowd stared in awe at the two of them. One could hardly believe these two were mere padawans. Both of them displayed skills beyond most of the other students.

Yet below their masks of calm and metal, the two duelists felt the peril emerging from the other one. This was no longer a mere duel between students, but a duel to determine who was the best.

Arthas had strength and skills in his possession, but the silent Kel Dor possessed equal skills, but slightly faster movements. Ryu's mask made it hard to read his expression and anticipate where his attack would come from. Both sides feared the others power.

The two of them stood on each of their logs, just looking at each other. No words were spoken, no taunts were made. Not a single second was wasted. Not a single sound emerged from the area around them.

The fight took more place between their minds than between their bodies.

The trick is to know when to let the body and mind become one.

The sudden sound of the wind whispering through the leafs broke the everlasting silence.

Both Ryu and Arthas moved at the same time. The power behind the acceleration of their charge caused the thick logs under their feet to nearly snap. To the students around them, the speed was too great to follow. For the duelists, the world around them seemed to move in slow motion.

Both lightsabers clashed together in a huge flash of light and energy in mid air, stopping their flight effectively. Ryu felt the shockwave running through the bones of his arms as the force in Arthas' attack passed through him.

Still in midair, gravity grabbed a hold of them and dragged them both towards the ground. To see two Jedi in the air, using Force Push at the same time was something that would be engraved the audience's mind for a long time.

Ryu felt the tremors of the Force as he sailed through the air, landing on yet another log. Looking over to Arthas, he had landed as well, adjusting his balance and charging up his powers for another attack.

Ryu knew he had to be cunning in order to win this. He couldn't fend off his powerful strikes for too long. A plan quickly formed in his mind and was put into action.

Focusing his main source of Force energy on speed, Ryu jumped upwards, towards the big log above him. And turning his swordarm into a blur of motion, his lightsaber made two lightening quick slashes into the log cutting lose a 3 ft long piece of it.

Once again, gravity took hold of him and the log, but Ryu used the Force once again to grab the falling log and throw it towards Arthas. The human still hadn't fully prepared himself for another attack so soon, and instantly slashed diagonally at the flying debris.

As the log split in two in front of his face, all he could see was Ryu too close to comfort, using the milliseconds it would take to get the lightsaber back for defense to jump at him. And the duel ended swiftly with Ryu's glowing blade stopping a half inch from Arthas' neck.

Right there, it felt like time had frozen solid.

Again, a complete silence dominated the meadow. Not even the jungle seemed to make any noise. Both the duelists stood immobile just looking at each other, the students watching looked at them in awe, knowing the duel was over.

At the end of Ryu's lightsaber, he could see the bitterness seething from Arthas' face. Apparently, this boy wasn't used to losing a fight. That was, again Phoenix's whole plan of mischief, to make him feel intimidated by them and maybe level him down a bit.

Arthas had other plans and jumped up on his feet and right into Ryu a half second after he shut down his lightsaber. Ryu was caught off guard and was sent tumbling onto the mudcovered ground below, with Arthas on top of him. Looking up at him, he saw a fist raised, ready to punch him right into his mask.

Before Ryu could protect himself or Arthas deliver his attack, a loud male voice snapped them all back to reality.

"What is going on here!"

All heads turned towards the voice, including the two mud-wrestlers. Phoenix and Auron swallowed when they saw the upset expression of their master, Jaden… and the owner of the voice…

Arthas let go of Ryu's collar and stood up, feeling the sweat gather on his face already.

"M…Master Penin….."

Rosh Penin and Jaden Korr stood side by side, looking at their students, both looking slightly annoyed about their behavior. Ryu also got up and stood next to Arthas, both boys looking down at the ground like a pair of naughty, mud-covered kids being caught raiding the candy-store. Neither of them spoke up.

"Arthas… what have I told you about controlling your anger? When someone has their lightsaber at your neck like that, the duel is over… tricks like that are not allowed," Rosh said and walked up to his student.

"Yes, Master… I'm sorry… this won't happen again," Arthas apologized and looked over at Ryu.

"Congratulations on the victory… no hard feelings?"

Ryu just shook his head and slapped a mud covered hand on Arthas' back, messing him up a little more, earning a grumpy look from Jaden.

"Rosh… I'm sorry about all this… I'll talk to my students afterwards," Jaden said at Rosh, but the man just waved a hand at her.

"Don't Jaden… I saw perfectly well who tried to duel dirty," Rosh said and eyed Arthas.

"Young Arthas… the jungle-run, on the double," Rosh said with an almost bootcamp instructor voice. Arthas was about to protest, but bit his lip and did as he was ordered, running towards the track that lead into the jungle. The jungle-run was a fitting way of getting the young student back on his feet. Overconfidence and ego was something a Jedi would have to surpass.

Telling Jaden that he would deal with this himself soon enough, Rosh took the rest of his students to the next stage of today's training. Jaden bowed politely at her old friend and turned towards the guilty-looking boys.

"All right… you three come inside with me…," Jaden said and walked towards the temple. Ryu, Phoenix and Aaron looked at each other a little nervous, but did as she instructed. Ryu's back was a little sore, and the ventilation in his mask had some mud inside.

Phoenix hid his grin. At the cost of their Master's annoyance, they had at least showed Arthas that he wasn't welcome in their group. Auron just walked along, chanting to himself that he had nothing to do with this.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Several levels above the training ground, Random was finally being let out of his bed. The queasy feeling in his body had stopped and his strength was coming back to him. A little shaky as his bare feet touched the cool stone floor, but not enough to make him fall again.

Looking around the silent room, nobody had seen him stumble, making him feel a little more victorious, a feeling he needed right now. The sight from earlier today still had its affections on him. Biting his lip, he started to walk forwards around the bed. It quickly sunk back into his memory and in a few minutes, he walked around the sick bay like nothing was wrong at all.

Upon returning to his bed, the maindoor opened and Random saw that Master Jaden and the rest of the group followed her. Half expecting to see Arthas in the back with Kayley, he felt a spark of joy when he saw she came by herself, but the expression on the boys looked like they had been caught doing something really naughty.

"Good to see you up and running, Random. How do you feel?" Jaden asked. Her otherwise calm features were now, serious. Something Random had never seen before.

"I'm feeling good. I think my body has completely healed. It'll just take me a little while to get used to walking again," he said, trying to smile as he sat down on the bed.

"That's good, because I have a few jobs for you all… and, no, Phoenix, it doesn't involve cleaning the entire temple, despite the fact that I'm tempted," Jaden replied.

Before Random could ask if something was wrong, Jaden continued.

"I have been instructed in giving you all a set of missions for you to carry out. This time, you won't travel as a unit, but in three different groups. These missions aren't big or difficult, but don't get careless. Expect resistance but avoid violent confrontations at all costs. Remember that you are Jedi, not soldiers.

Your destinations are Corellia, Tatooine and Coruscant.

Tween, I want you to take your brother and Ryu to Corellia. There is a mansion just outside Coronet where there has been some strange activity reported over the past few months. Lots of people go there, carrying supplies without the knowledge of the authorities, but nobody ever seem to leave the place. Your mission is to infiltrate the mansion, find what information you can and report to the local law enforcements."

Tween, Phoenix and Ryu all shared a little worried look, but if Master Jaden said was true, this mission wasn't that difficult.

"Auron and Selene. You two are going to Coruscant. A factory that specializes in building military spaceships have suffered some problems in what they believe to be Imperial agents trying to sabotage the factory. The guy running the place insists that no such thing has happened and we fear he might be on the Imperial payroll. Whether he is paid to shut up or he has no clue is unknown, but your job is to find out which one of them. Since Coruscant is under the control of The New Alliance, the Imperials wouldn't dare to send a large force there, so if you meet resistance it will be only from a small group."

Now Jaden turned towards Random and Kayley.

"You two are going to Tatooine. Our new Force seeking agents has newly discovered a place a few miles away from Mos Eisley where they feel a concentration of the Force and they want to send someone to investigate. Random, I know you still suffer from the aftereffects from your last mission, but this assignment won't have you deal with people, and since Kayley has some knowledge of the desert, you'll be in good hands. All you have to do is go out there, search the area and if you find anything, report back to the Academy.

Besides, Tatooine is far away, giving you an extra day to regain your strength."

"Uhm, who's taking the ship, since there's three groups?" Kayley wanted to know, sitting down next to Random.

"You and Random will take the ship. The rest of you will receive tickets to regular transport to your destinations. Everyone's top priority will be anonymity. The more people knowing you are Jedi, the more difficult things will get. Therefore I say once again, avoid confrontations at all costs, not just for their safety, but also your own," Jaden said in a voice the others know would be most unwise to argue with. Then the Zabrak woman continued her instructions.

"You will all receive further information about your missions once you get on board your ships. I'll give you a few minutes to talk amongst yourselves before you leave. May the Force be with all of you," Jaden finished and gave them a polite bow before leaving the chamber, leaving all seven to their own world.

"Uhm… did something happen while I was in sickbay?" Random asked as he once again saw the looks on the boys.

"Uhm…well….we….sort of managed to start a little fight…" Phoenix admitted.

"A duel," Auron corrected.

"With who?"

"Err… Arthas…" Phoenix said, once again getting the caught-kid expression. This caused Kayley to wake up.

"With Arthas?… Why would you do such a thing?" Kayley demanded to know.

"He was getting cocky at the duel-training, but good ol' Ryu here got him back to the ground… literally," Auron said and patted Ryu on the back, causing the silent Kel Dor to feel really guilty. They had done it to chase Arthas away from Kayley so Random could get a shot, but now it sounded just… stupid. Unnecessary. Fate had already brought them together in their upcoming mission.

"Hey, hey, whoa… easy now, guys… we should rather focus on each other for the moment. This is the first time we're gonna separate…" Selene said and to her relief, everyone agreed… for now. Everyone managed to hide their concern about each other for the next few minutes, keeping the 'teary-farewells' to a minimum.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After that they all went back to their chambers, gathering their equipment assigned for their missions and left towards the hangar. The ancient corridors whispered a little 'good luck' to them with a comforting voice they all had began to familiarize with. Never before had this place felt more like home to them.

Kayley slowed down on the path to the ship. Looking to Random walking next to her, she still noticed he wasn't totally up and about just yet. Walking a bit slower, but she told herself that this was just because he had spent the past few days on a bed. He just needed some time to get the feeling back. Random suddenly looked up at her and noticed she was staring.

"What?" he asked, catching her attention. She quickly faced forward, getting a small hint of a blush on her cheeks.

"Uhm… nothing. Just glad to see you back on your feet. The days at training aren't the same with you," she said, almost afraid to look directly at him. Random just raised an eyebrow. That had to be some of the sweetest things he had heard all day, especially considering who the words came from.

"Oh… how so?"

"Well… because you are the leader of our little group. Things tend to be a little more… fun… when I… err… WE have you by our side. Sorry, Random, I keep messing words up. Things have been so… confusing as of late. Thus given my misplacing of certain words… and now I'm just rambling. I'll be quiet now," Kayley said and looked away from him.

"What's confusing you? Is it your friend?" Random asked, kind of expecting a yes-answer to that. His guess was correct.

"W… who? Arthas? Yeah… yes, he's causing a little stir, I admit. A part of me is happy to see him again… but there is always that other little part. Please don't ask about it. I really don't want to talk about that. There will be time to talk once we've taken off in The Silver Eagle," Kayley finished.

"Uhm… 'The Silver Eagle'?"

"That's what I decided to call our ship. She's like our little baby now. It's only appropriate that we name her, don't you think?" Kayley replied with a smile.

"The Silver Eagle… I like it," Random answered.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Less than three hours later, Ryu, Phoenix and Tween were on a huge ship set to carry them to the planet of Corellia and towards their mission. They had given up their Jedi outfits, replaced with common clothing to avoid unwanted attention. Their lightsabers, that was the only weapons they brought along, were all carefully hidden under their jackets.

Sitting in their seats, they had been given their mission-briefing on something that was supposed to look like a newspaper.

"Unexplained disappearances… sounds described as 'terror screams'… no recorded residents during the last 50 years… sounds to me like a haunted mansion or something else worth being scared shitless, eh… This might be fun," Phoenix said with humor, as usual.

"Phoenix… please, just try to take this serious, eh? Ya don't hear us making jokes about this, do ya?" his sister Tween said to him. But she knew she was fighting an impossible battle.

"Well, given the fact that one of the two of ya can't really talk and knowing yer sense of humor… not really," said the young Zabrak with a huge grin on his face, causing another sigh from his sister.

"It says here that the security system has been inoperative for 30 years after the government shut down the energy-supply to this mansion. So I guess getting in and out will go undetected. Oh joy. And during the last 5 years, a street-gang of thugs and such has according to these reports, entered this mansion, never to come out again. Most likely to prove their silly courage. I'm betting 50 credits that the floor is so rotten and damaged that they all fall through it," Phoenix continued.

Ryu showed a few hand signs, stating his point of view. Tween nodded and got her brother's attention.

"I'm with Ryu on this one. Think about it… 5 years of disappearances and they still send their thugs in? There must be something fishy going on in there. And I doubt it's a sushi-restaurant."

"Fine… whatever you two feel. We're gonna bust in and find out. I've seen plenty of investigator-holocronvideoes to learn a trick or two," Phoenix said and put the briefing papers away.

"Really? And what's that?" Tween said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"That the investigator normally has to be removed from the case in order to solve it," he replied, giving the other two one of his proud grins.

Ryu sighed under the mask and banged his head against the table they were sitting at. This was gonna be a 'great' investigation, indeed.

The starship had set its course and charged up the hyperdrive. A few seconds later, the ship disappeared in the neverending distance that was space.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

End of chapter 7.

Phew, this has been some brutal times as of late. I'm no longer sure I'm fit to do this anymore. I feel like I can't keep up with the flow, mainly because I have MANY other flows to go with as well. That will be described a little lower on this page. Maybe ya all will understand.

First of all, I would like to thank Dash Rendar for doing a amazing job on beta-reading and correcting this chapter, when my own skills and computer fails me. I can't thank you enough.

Now for a lovely tradition. A "thank-you" to my reviewers. Bless you. At least most of you.

Alright, here goes:

Phantomsith: I sure hope this next chapter will be enlightening to ya. Thanks to you I have most of the ideas covered for their mission. Be prepared for some scary haunted-mansion action;)

Tinuviel Undomiel: I'll keep that grammer-correction in mind;) And I know the Kyle/Jan part in this chapter could have been bigger, but ya know they will return later on. Hope the scene with Random and Jan was as ya had hoped for.

Seriyu-the-ice-dragon: Yer absolutely right. Pain is on its way… Is it really that obvious? Heh heh.

Omeganian: Technically, when the Rancor lost his head, it kinda lost the other eye as well. Don't you agree? And thanks for the joke. It still cracks me up. Gave me a nice idea for a mission to Endor as well… thanks a lot.

Snackfiend101: I have a few people who is up for beta-reading, but since it's been a too long time since they said they would, I don't know who is still up for it. As for the review, yer idea with the team splitting up looks to be on the roll now. Hope ya like it next time around;)

Katarn da man: I appreciate your feelings about this story, and I'm sorry for the delay. My mood for writing isn't what is used to be anymore. Your action of reviewing 4 times is appreciated, but I must ask you NOT to rush me in any way. We all have our problems in life, even I have some. So I write only when I have the time to write.

Dynamis: Thanks for liking the previous chapter;) And yeah I know I'm taking my time. As for Random, he doesn't really deserve this punishment, but being the leader, ya have to do certain things in order to ensure the survival of your fellow teammates.

Shanesnest: What I have in story art, I lack in speed of progress… My sparetime is far from what it used to be in the good old days where I could type something for a chapter every single day. Maybe I'm no longer fit to be an fanfiction author… Even I sense that my chapters now isn't as good as they used to be… for that I'm ashamed. But thanks for the kind words. I really appreciate them all.

Shalashaska-001: Made it pretty obvious that it would return, didn't I… I love to keep the audience on their toes.

Blackheart Syaoran: The reason why I didn't put in the Dathomir Witches is simply because I DON'T KNOW how they look like nor how they behave. If I knew, then I'm sure I would have thrown them into the story. As for the Sith guys, they are lurking around, so don't you worry about a thing. They will show up and cause some heavy trouble for our friends.

Some Star Wars Nut Who Happene: Or should I call you Dash Rendar from now on? Since our students are young and inexperienced in the force, the amount of Force Powers will be basic at the beginning. Later, I'll give them some other powers, but not yet. Your idea of a mission sounds fair enough, and might be tested out in the future. As for more romance, keep reading and you'll be rewarded for yer patience.

Wrrohm: My dear friend, there is no such thing as getting away easy… going easy is for sissies and pushovers. So HAH! As for the Siths, they are coming, so don't you worry….or maybe you SHOULD worry….depends… Thanks a lot for your review. Nowadays, I need all the good words I can get.

Zeroray: Thanks for liking this story as much as ya say ya do… I know by now somebody must have reviewed your stories. I'm sorry for falling out of this story-writing business, but like I'll say below all these thank-you notes…I've had my troubles… please understand. And I hope that the FOLLOWING chapter will be equally tension filled as the Dathomir mission.

: I know it would be a crime not to finish this story and I thank you for saying it's the best you have read. But another crime is to set aside my own life to dedicate myself to writing. I study HARD to become what I dream of becoming, and to do that, I must focus on school and my real work. This has to affect my writing here at FanFiction. It's not pleasant, but it's the hard facts of life…

Star Wars Fan: Another one saying this is the best story they have ever read. Hearing that mean a lot to me. Thank you.

Nerwen Aldarion: Hunt me down, eh? Ya know, reviews like this has a double meaning. One: you like this story and obviously want me to continue my writing. But two: you actually threaten me into my face here at FanFiction… THAT is something I do NOT tolerate, joking or not. So if you still want to hunt me down, then I welcome you to try… I would be surprised if you won;)

Kuragarik: I understand yer view from the Rancor's side of the situation, but given yer optimism, I wouldn't like to stand next to you if ya try to consult a Rancor. Mistake or not, a Rancor would rather eat ya then to make friends with ya. But thanks anyway for commenting the level of realism in this story, cause that is what I try to create.

Delirium-3000: Another new face saying how much ya like this story. Warms a broken heart pretty good. I really appreciate it. And to be honest, your idea for a mission is in fact already under construction… at least on the planning level. So either yer good at reading my mind, or yer good at guessing;) Who knows? But thanks again.

Star Wars Fan: I don't know if you reviewed this story twice or just using the same name as above, but I'm working what I can to update. But I can't work more than I am capable of. Nobody can.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Alright, that's all the reviewers. Another NOTE for everyone is that ideas for missions are now over for this time around. I have so many plans and so little time than I can't afford to have more sent to me. I know ya might have some good ideas or wishes, but I can only take THIS much. So if ya stick around to next round of mission-suggestions, I'm sure I can do something about it.

And a FINAL note to all who think I write and update too slow, I ask you all to STOP rushing me. Reviews asking me nicely to continue is okay, but reviews and even E-Mails containing threats towards me if I don't update is something that will NOT be tolerated. IF this keeps up, I will pack my stuff and leave this section for good.

Since last time I wrote, things were different than they are today. Since last time, I've had 5 exams, 100 job applications, homework every single day, a painful break-up, sickness, a hospital stay and for a LONG time I haven't been able to access FanFiction until only a few days ago and some other things I rather not talk about.

If people have troubles dealing with these statements of facts, tough luck. As I get older, my sparetime vanishes day by day until there is nothing left. I'm a busy man who now has to focus my mind on the things I will do for a living instead of my hobbies. I know this might sound harsh and cruel, right up until ya try to place yerself in my situation… think about that until next update.


End file.
